


The Emperor of Death

by GravityEmblem314



Category: Code Geass, Death Note (Anime & Manga), Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: AU: Sothis has been inside Byleth’s head since childhood, Anachronistic References, Anti-Hero, Challenge: guess which trope is for which relationship, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Massive spoilers for all routes, Mutual Pining, New Tags as the plot progresses, Slow Burn, Title is a WIP, Tsundere, disclaimer: I have not seen all of code Geass yet, especially Eagles, lots of homo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-09-24 18:20:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20362975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GravityEmblem314/pseuds/GravityEmblem314
Summary: Edelgard has been granted a greater power than most people can even imagine. The Geass—the power to force anyone to follow one order—and the Death Note—the ability to kill anyone with just a name and a face. She will undoubtedly gain much, but the question is...what will she lose?





	1. Chapter 1

“Now!” cried Byleth, pointing to the row of bandits. Petra and her brigade of Pegasus Knights arranged in a triangle formation and charged forward. Two were killed, and one was knocked over. He struggled to get up, but Bernadetta finished him off with a well-placed arrow.

“Uh...boss?” one of the rogues asked. “What say we ‘cut our losses ‘ and run?”

“Good idea,” the leader concurred. He hoisted their captive (a young maiden with bright green hair) over his shoulder and retreated off the battlefield.

“We can’t let them escape!” shouted Edelgard. “Linhardt, cast Stride! I’ll go after them!”

He sighed, motioned to his battalion, and cast the spell with them. Edelgard felt a surge of energy moving through her body as Stride began to take effect. Without a word, she dashed off after the bandits. 

“Boss, we have someone on our tail!” one announced. 

“Just as planned...quick, down that ledge!” They slid down the ledge, and Edelgard followed suit.

“Release the girl!” she yelled brandishing her axe. Then she noticed what was behind them.

Ten archers, bows drawn and aimed directly at her.

“Not so tough now, eh?” the leader cackles, tossing the captive forward.

“So, you believe that utilizing a deceitful, craven tactic makes you superior to me?”

“Hah! You try to lecture me, as if you wouldn’t do anything to achieve victory, too!”

Edelgard scowled at the leader. He had just been making a shot in the dark, but it looked like he struck a nerve. Unbeknownst to both of them, the green-haired girl had regained consciousness and was crawling toward Edelgard.

“Fire on my command! 3...2...”

She was about to die. All her hopes, dreams, and ambitions, wiped away in a simple skirmish with some opportunistic bandits. Here she was, helpless to do anything more than close her eyes and come to terms with her fate...

Then, she felt a hand grasp her arm. Edelgard’s world shattered.

She felt as if she were floating in a mysterious, vibrant abyss. Colors and symbols flashed before her eyes, until one in particular remained emblazoned in her vision. An unfamiliar voice called out to her.

_“_ _It seems you have a reason to live...with my power, you can survive this encounter—and do so much for. All I ask for in return is that you make my wish come true. Interested?_”

_I don’t have much of a choice, if I want to live..._ Edelgard thought. “Very well. I accept your contract! Bestow your power to me!” The symbol in front of her transformed into a beam of energy, which entered her body through her left eye. She felt a quick burst of pain, then a feeling of vitality rushing through her body as she awoke from this...dream. She clutched her eye, as the knowledge of how to use this mysterious power sparked in her mind. 

“Wait!” she called.

The bandit leader hesitated. “What...you got last words?”

“Just one:” Edelgard said, removing her hand. “ **DIE**. ” The strange symbol formed, and the twelve ruffians were instantly controlled by its power. Each used his weapon on himself to gruesome effect, splattering blood on her and the green-haired girl, who sat up and clutched her head.

“Well...” she said weakly. “That was an impressive display.” The memory of that...dream realm was already starting to fade from Edelgard’s memory, but she could not be mistaken: this girl was the one who spoke to her.

“Are you injured?” she asked, picking up a few of the bandit’s arrows.

“I’m fine. I think a better question is: why are you stabbing yourself with those arrows?”

“I can’t let anyone know about this...geass you gave me,” she explained, putting one in her arm. “They’ll figure out about the ambush from the body count, and it’ll look suspicious if I come back unscathed. Linhardt or Flayn can heal me, so I’m not in any serious danger. Come now, we must get back to the class.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Byleth waited impatiently for Edelgard’s return. It had been ten minutes, and still no sign of them.

“This isn’t like her,” remarked Sothis, who floated next to her. “It shouldn’t take this long to take care of a measly two bandits.”

“That’s exactly why I’m worried,” Byleth whispered back. “If she doesn’t appear in...oh, ten seconds, I’m going after her.”

“Look!” Ferdinand cried, gesturing to the horizon. The professor looked up to see Edelgard and the captive maiden stagger toward the class.

“Flayn! Linhardt! Prepare to give medical attention!”

“Right!” the former said, as the two dashed to their house leader.

“What happened?” Linhardt asked, gently removing the arrows and healing Edelgard’s wounds.

“There was an ambush,” she explained. “Ten archers, hiding behind a ledge. Thankfully, I got lucky, and was able to dodge most of their attacks.”

“Well, knowing Edie, most of that blood isn’t hers,” joked Dorothea. “So, care to introduce yourself?” she asked the green-haired girl.

“My name is C.C.—pronounced ‘C-2.’”

Byleth stared at her blankly, before asking, “Mind if I call you CeeCee?”

“That’s fine. I’m afraid I don’t know what those thieves wanted from me, besides the usual ‘kidnapping maidens’ fare.”

“Well, Rhea said she wanted us to bring you back to the monastery...so you don’t have much of a choice but to come with us.” The disgust in Byleth’s voice was not hard to notice. “Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Well...I was actually on my way there when I was abducted,” C.C. explained, giving Edelgard a glance that all but explained she had fabricated that story. “I don’t have anywhere else to go, so I was hoping I might be able to enroll there.”

“Well, I, for one, would happily have you in my class. But for now, we need to bring you before the archbishop.”

“Hey, anyone want to race home?” Caspar suggested. “Last place is on kitchen duty!”

“What can I say? I can’t back down from a challenge!” Ferdinand enthusiastically replied.

“Sounds fun!” Linhardt piped in. “Let me just get ready,” he said, motioning to his battalion. 

“Hey, Stride’s cheating!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Thank you, Byleth,” Rhea said. “As usual, you done an excellent job assisting the church of Seiros.”

“Mm-hm,” she mumbled in reply. 

“As for you—C.C., was it? I believe you wished to enroll here at Garreg Mach.”

“That’s right, Archbishop,” she replied with a bow.

“Well, as long as the professor is willing, I see no objection.”

“Lady Rhea, are you sure about this—“ Seteth interjected, but the Archbishop cut him off.

“Not now, Seteth. We may discuss this later. For now, you should show C.C. to her room.”

Byleth bowed half-heartedly and guided her out of the chamber.

“Now, you were saying, Seteth?”

“Are you sure this is safe? Letting a completely unknown character into the monastery?”

“You and I both know that Byleth would catch on quickly if anything were wrong. Besides...did you see her hair and eyes?”

Seteth has to admit she was right. Green hair and eyes were an extremely rare occurrence, and the few that neared it were said to have been blessed by the goddess with great power.

“I believe it best for us to keep her where we can keep an eye on her, rather than out in the world, unchecked.”

“Very well...I will defer to your judgement, Lady Rhea.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Really? Not a single free room?” Byleth asked in exasperation.

“I’m afraid so,” answered Hannemann. “It’s been a very popular year for enrollment; she’ll have to bunk with one of the other students for now.”

“I’m happy to volunteer,” Edelgard suggested, walking up to them.

“Ah, splendid. I’ll have some of the faculty set up an extra bed. Edelgard, could I trouble you to take Miss C.C. there?”

“Gladly.”

“In that case, I’ll head down to the dining hall to help prepare dinner,” Byleth said. “Don’t worry, I’ll formally introduce you to the class tomorrow.” She took her leave, and Edelgard and C.C. began to walk back to their room. Upon arrival, the former locked the door and said, “All right; now that we have some privacy, I need some questions answered.”

“Quite fair.”

“First: please explain this ‘Geass’ power to me.”

C.C. chuckled. “I’m afraid I only know the basics. When you have direct eye contact with someone, you can give them a single order, which they will carry out, and awake with no memory of it.”

“Well, it seems I have some experimentation to do...how were you able to grant me this power?”

“I’m not sure...and if I did know, I doubt I’d tell you.”

“Fine...where are you from?”

“Now  that’s  a secret I’ll never tell.”

Edelgard was starting to frustrate. She willed the power of the Geass to awaken, and her left eye glowed.

“**Tell** **me the truth.**”

C.C. just chuckled. “Hmm...I’ll pass.”

After a few seconds of silence, Edelgard flatly said, “What?”

“Oh, the Geass doesn’t work on me...should I have mentioned that?”

The heir to Adrestian sighed. Inconvenient...but it did make sense.

“Probably...you could have spared me some humiliation. But for now, we should head to the dining hall. We’ll raise suspicion if we loiter here for too long.”

She strolled away, and C.C. jogged up behind her.

“Hey, if you don’t mind me asking...what are you planning to use the Geass for?”

She turned to her and said, “The same thing I had planned to do nearly my entire life: destroy the Church of Seiros.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“And now, please welcome master chef, Bernadetta von Varley!” Bernadetta said, in a ridiculous French accent.

“Thank you, thank you,” she replied, bowing. “Now, today we will be making fish gratin,” she said with a flourish. “The art of cooking is a delicate one, so you must use only the best ingredients—like this Bullhead, freshly caught by our very own Professor Byleth!” She oohed and ahhed, taking the role of the adoring crowd. “For a truly delicious meal, do not just follow the recipe: pour your heart and soul into cooking! Try your own takes on traditional meals! For example, not one of my many acclaimed dishes is complete without a pinch of ‘Chef Bernie’s Secret—‘“ Before she could finish, she noticed Byleth standing in the doorway, watching her.

“AAAAAHHHHH! Professor! How long were you watching?!”

“Oh, the whole time,” she replied. “And I’m starting to think you lost the race home on purpose—nice hat, by the way.”

Bernadetta quickly took off her chef’s hat and hid it behind her back.

“I’m not particularly good at cooking, so maybe I could observe you? Pick up a few pointers?”

“Uh...” she stammered. “I...suppose?”

“Thanks! Don’t worry, I won’t get in your way...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“This is delicious!” Caspar cried, with his mouth full. “I could eat this all day! Hey, Flayn what do you think?”

She was too busy shoveling food into her mouth to answer.

“Table manners, you two,” Linhardt dryly remarked. “Still, I have to admit, this is one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. And I’m not even that fond of fish!”

Bernadetta blushed and curled up in her chair. Further down the table, Edelgard and C.C. sat quietly, eating their food.

“So, you’re sharing a room with Edie?” Dorothea asked.

“I am, at least until we find another opening.”

“I can’t lie: I’m a bit jealous. Just don’t get up to anything inappropriate in there!” she said with a wink. C.C. giggled. Edelgard sighed and covered her face.

“Anyway, I’ve been told you were an opera singer before coming here. Is that true?”

“Yes, actually. I don’t want to brag, but I was rather famous back in the day. I even played the leading female role—well, roles—in  Tales of the Holy War .”

“Really?” Edelgard remarked. “That’s probably my favorite opera of all time. We’d often go to see it with my family when I was younger.”

“Wow...hey, did you ever see it between 1175 and 1176? That’s when I was in the play.”

“I believe so; once. And here I am, five years later, dining with the star of the show I love so dearly.”

“Who’s your favorite character?”

“Oh, Arvis. There’s no question about it.”

“The evil emperor? ...are you sure you don’t have something planned, Edie?” Dorothea joked.

“Oh,  ha ha.  I don’t see him as a villain. In fact, I believe he’s one of the most tragic characters in opera. Think about it: his childhood was rife with misfortune, and so he tried his very best to realizing his noble ambitions: to abolish the aristocracy. In doing so, he was deceived and manipulated by the Loptyr cult, and he hurt and killed innocents and even friends, all the while assuring himself his end goal was worth it. By the time he realized what he’d become, it was too late, and he died helpless to keep his son from destroying the world and himself.”

“Fascinating character study...but what about the part where he married his half-sister?”

“...yes, that is hard to justify.”

At the head of the dining hall, Byleth rang a bell to signal for attention.

“OK, quiet down everybody...QUIET DOWN, I’m looking at you, Caspar. Now, I want to bring your attention to the annual mock battle between the academy’s three houses: the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Don’t ask me why the Deer are getting left out.”

A brief laugh permeated the dining hall.

“I have been told that to make up for the fact that two students from each house have transferred to my class, the Deer and Lions will receive additional troops from the Knights of Seiros as support. Seems a bit disproportionate, but no matter, we’ll crush y’all anyway.”

A mixture of chuckles and cheers came from the Black Eagles table.

“Anyway, the battle is at the end of the month, so be sure to get in all your necessary training by then. OK, you may return to stuffing your faces.”

The dining hall returned to its usual clamor.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, do you know that...Dorothea character?” C.C. asked as they returned to their room.

“Yes; she’s a fellow member of the Black Eagle houses, and a close friend of mine,” Edelgard answered.

“Are you sure about that?” she responded, raising an eyebrow. Edelgard was about to answer, but she noticed something on her desk that wasn’t there before.

“...’Death Note?’”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know,” she said, turning it the first page. “‘This is the notebook of a god of death...for how to use, see the back for the accompanying rulebook.’” She did so, and pulled out a comparatively thick booklet. “There are certainly a lot of rules...” she remarked, flipping through it as C.C. looked a the book proper.

“Well, this is completely blank.”

“Maybe the rules explain it,” Edelgard suggested, turning to the first rule. “‘A human whose name is written in this notebook will die...this notebook will not take effect unless the writer has the person’s face in his/her mind while writing...’ Do you think this is real?”

“I’ve seen stranger. And if it is, you now have the ability to make anyone do anything,  and  the ability to kill anyone.

“Well, then...” Edelgard gave a sly smile. “My plans just got a lot more interesting.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter’s a bit lighter fare than the last. The whole school phase is going to be pretty fluffy, honestly. What can I say? I love wholesome interactions between the main cast.

The academy bells struck 8, and class was is session. Byleth stood up from her desk and took attendance.

“Well, looks like Linhardt and Caspar are late. They’d better get here soon—“

As if in response, Caspar hurtled into the class at lightning speed and crashed into the blackboard.

“...Stride?”

He nodded weakly.

“Well, sadly for you, you’re still late.” She turned the blackboard over to the side with “Tardy Chart” at the top and made a mark under Caspar’s name. “You still haven’t served your detention from  last  week.”

“Sorry, I...couldn’t find any ‘Women Want Me, Fish Fear Me’ hats.”

“Oh, come now, it’s not as if  you’re  doing any fishing. Meet me by the docks right after school.”

Caspar sighed and returned to his seat, and Linhardt entered, sitting next to him.

“Told you it was a bad idea,” he remarked.

“Ah, Linhardt! Tardy point for you, and we can finally start. Now, like to introduce our new student: CeeCee.”

C.C. came to the front of the class when Byleth introduced her.

“You probably recognize her from when we rescued her from bandits yesterday. Anyway, let’s go around the room with introductions. Everyone, say your name and a fun fact about yourself.”

“My name is Edelgard von Hresvelg. I’m the leader of the Black Eagles, and I’m afraid of rats.”

“I-I’m Bernadetta, and...I don’t like talking to people? Does that count?”

“I’m Linhardt, and I like naps.”

“I’m Caspar, and my favorite color is fuchsia!”

“My name is Hubert von Vestra, and..I fear heights.”

“I am Ferdinand von Aegir, and I  love  heights.”

“I...my name is Marianne, and I...um...I like animals...”

“I’m Lysithea von Ordelia, and I’m scared of—uh...I really like—can I skip this one?”

“I’m Sylvain, and I’m pretty popular with the ladies!”

“...Felix. He’s lying. Nobody likes him.”

“Hey,  I  like me!”

“My name is Petra, and I am being from Brigid.”

“Well, I’m Dorothea, and I was once an opera singer—but, you already knew that.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all...” C.C. said, smiling sincerely.

“Before we start class: which disciplines are you interested in?”

C.C. thought to herself, then said, “I suppose I’ve always had an interest in Magic, though I haven’t learned any yet.”

“That should do. After all, you can never have too many Mages.”

Linhardt, Flayn, Dorothea, Hubert, and Lysithea looked at each other.

“Now, everyone, we’re going to start off the day with a quick sparring tournament, while Lysithea and I teach C.C. the basics of magic...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Does every teacher work their students this hard?” C.C. sighed at dinner.

“Haha, not quite,” Ferdinand answered, chuckling. “But what can I say? Our results speak for themselves.”

“This is a woman who took extensive magical training just so they could better instruct her students,” Lysithea explained. “Now that’s dedication.”

“Is that why you were leaving the Golden Deer for our house?” Petra asked.

“Well, that, and...a more personal reason,” she answered, glancing at Edelgard. “When she heard I transferred, Marianne requested one, too.”

“What about Sylvain and Felix?” Caspar asked.

“Sylvain joined because he thought I was more attractive than Hanneman,” Byleth explained as she walked by. “And Felix joined because he was jealous of that fact.”

“I joined to learn from your sword technique!” he shouted from down the table.

“Right...” she said, clearly unconvinced. She took a sip from her hip flask and handed a letter to Ferdinand. “A messenger came riding up earlier and said to give this to you. I don’t know what it’s about, but he seemed urgent.”

Ferdinand thanked her, opened it, and turned pale at its contents.

“Oh, goddess,” he whispered.

“What is it?”

“My father...he’s died of a heart attack.”

Bernadetta gasped.

“Ferdinand...I’m so sorry...” Edelgard said forlornly.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not as if  you  killed him.”

C.C. covered her mouth.

“Do you...think you’ll be all right?” Lysithea asked.

“Yes. My father and I never got along—I hated how he abused his power as a noble, and he hated how I would point it out. I always knew he had to be removed from his position someday, but this wasn’t really what I had in mind.”

“Well, we’ll all give you the space you need, Ferdinand,” Edelgard said. “Once again: my condolences.”

“Thank you.” He excused himself, and headed back to his room.

“He didn’t even finish his food,” noted Caspar. Linhardt kicked him under the table.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, why’d you kill Duke Aegir?” quietly asked C.C., as they walked back to their room.

“You mean, besides what Ferdinand said?” Edelgard answered. “He was a cowardly, lazy, corrupt windbag of a noble, and he deserved death.”

“But it can’t have just been that. What made him instantly spring to mind?”

“You ask as if  you  aren’t one for secrets. If you want to know why I want to destroy the church or why I was so eager to kill him, you’d do well to—“

Before she could finish, they walked into their room to discover a tall, winged figure with a terrifying smile on his face waiting for them.

“Hello, there,” he said. C.C. stared in shock, and Edelgard grabbed a nearby training axe and brandished it in the creature’s direction.

“If you make one move, you die.”

“Hmm...not very likely,” he answered. “‘A Shinigami cannot be killed by human means; even if stabbed through the heart or shot in the head.’”

“Shinigami...you mean, this is yours?” Edelgard asked, holding up the Death Note.

“Precisely. I left it here, just for you to find. Little did I know someone else had found you first!” He chuckled and pointed at C.C.

“So...why? Why give me this?”

“Well, let’s start at the beginning. My name is Ryuk. Like I said, I am a Shinigami—a god of death. We write the names of humans in our notebooks, extending our life by the excess of the human’s lifespan. But these days? Shinigami have gotten soft and lazy. Most do nothing but gamble and occasionally write down a few names. I was bored. And so, I’ve been watching you from our realm. You seemed like the perfect person for me to give it to—even more so after your encounter with this girl!” Ryuk concluded. “So, now that you have the Death Note, what are you going to use it for?”

“The same thing I told C.C.,” Edelgard answered, grabbing her nightwear. “To destroy the Church of Seiros!”

“Hyuk hyuk hyuk! I  _knew_ I liked you!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Edelgard woke up early the next morning. Or, more accurately, she was woken up early, by Ryuk crunching on an apple.

“Where did you get that, Ryuk...” she asked, still half asleep.

“From the dining hall. Don’t worry, no one can see me. It’s right here in the rules,” he answered, lifting her pillow and pointing at the Note.

“What time is it even?” Edelgard drowsily remarked. “The sun’s barely shining...”

“Oh, I’d say...6:00?”

She groaned and pulled the covers over her head.

“Couldn’t you eat more quietly? I was having the most wonderful dream...”

“Oh, really? What?”

“Well, Dorothea and I were—“ Edelgard caught herself before talking any further, glared at Ryuk, and hid under the covers again. He shrugged and returned to his apple.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I’m afraid I won’t be in class for the next few days,” Ferdinand told Byleth.

“Really?” she replied, confused. “Why not?”

“I have to travel back to the empire to settle my father’s estate.”

The professor stared at him blankly for several seconds. She finally said:

“Is...is your father dead?”

“Yes. I got the news last night.”

Byleth sighed and took a sip from her hip flask. 

“Why am I always the last to hear about these things...” she muttered.

At the Black Eagles table, Sylvain strolled up to Edelgard’s table.

“Hey, C.C.! What do you think’s in the flask?”

“Hmm?”

“There’s a betting pool in the class on what the Professor’s always drinking out of that flask,” explained Caspar. Most of us think it’s beer, but a few put their money on something stronger, like scotch or whiskey.”

“Have you seen the look she gives right before she drinks out of it?” Sylvain said. “There’s no way that’s something so weak as  beer. ”

“Personally, I bet on iced tea,” Linhardt remarked. The whole table stared at him for a moment.

“Anyway...interested?” 

“I think I’ll pass...but let me know if you think of a way to actually  find out. ”

“Do you have any ideas? Maybe we can discuss over tea...”

“ **Leave her alone, Sylvain**, ” Edelgard ordered. The further Sylvain stayed from C.C., the less likely he was to discover the Geass and the Death Note. 

“All right, all right; I’ll just...be over here,” he replied, walking down the length of the table.

“Wow...you really scared him off, Edie,” Dorothea said with a wink.

“What can I say? I have an intimidating presence.”

“Well, your presence has a _very_ different effect on me...”

Edelgard blushed.

“OK, enough of this lovey-dovey stuff. I’m off to the kitchen for another apple.”

Coincidentally, Sothis was talking to Byleth at that very moment.

“Byleth, I’m huuuuungry...”

“No, you’re not. We’ve had this conversation—what, thousands of times in the however-many years of my life? You complain about hunger, I point out that you can’t  get  hungry, and you just want a cookie.”

“...can I  have  a cookie?”

“Eh, I’m not the cookie police. They’re in the pantry. Don’t take too many, or people will get suspicious.”

Sothis cheered and skipped off toward the back of the dining hall. Byleth sipped from her flask.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Unfortunately for Ryuk, there was only one apple in the kitchen, and he was forced to search the pantry when his craving set in.

“Now, if I were an apple, where would I hide...here, apple apple apple! Ryuk’s stomach is calling!”

After a few minutes of calling, he caught the scent, and ran off in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, Sothis had also glimpsed a cookie jar on the horizon, and began running as well.

Inevitably, they ran into each other.

More specifically, Ryuk tripped over Sothis, knocking her over and sending him flying. Sprawling on the ground, he picked himself, stomped on the direction he came from, and promptly fell over Sothis again.

“OK, now I’m  really  mad!” He got on his hands and knees, and felt around for the object he tripped on. Soon enough, he grabbed a hold of what felt like hair and lifted it up. Sothis screamed as she began to float it the air. Some sort of...invisible force was trying to kidnap her! 

“Well, they messed with the wrong...whatever I am!” Thinking quickly, she grabbed a nearby bag of flour and smashed it into her captor’s face.

Outlined by flour, Ryuk began to wheeze and cough. Grinning triumphantly she was freed, Sothis started picking up whatever she could find on the shelves and throwing them at the no-longer-invisible force. Each time he tried to walk another step, he was pelted by a mixture of jam, boxed spaghetti, and powdered milk. When she ran out of things to throw, she dashed around the back of the shelf and simply pushed it onto her opponent.

When the dust cleared, Ryuk’s messy arm came out of the wreckage, waving a white flag. Sothis giggled and set off to grab her cookies.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured I’d give Hubert some screen time. Edelgard’s closest ally, and he’s gone two chapters and has only spoken once. He deserves better!

“Ah, Hubert,” Edelgard said. “I have a task for you.”

“Anything, lady Edelgard,” he replied with a bow.

“I’d like you to do some research and compile a dossier of corrupt nobles. For each one, I need their name, picture, and the crimes they have committed.”

“Of course. Just from the empire, or from all over Fodlan?”

“All of Fodlan, preferably. I don’t have a deadline, so take as long as you need.”

Hubert bowed and started walking in the direction of the library.

“He didn’t even ask what it was for,” noted C.C.

“That’s Hubert for you. He’s always been unquestionably loyal, ever since—“ Edelgard stopped herself. “Hubert!” she shouted. “Don’t forget: we still have class!”

He shouted back, “Do you mean to say that that we are refined, despite the casual company we keep, or that I needn’t forgo our schooling to work on this report?!”

“The second!” She briskly walked in the direction of the academy, and Hubert ran up until he was next to her.

“We haven’t been formally introduced, have we?” he asked C.C, a glimmer of suspicion in his eyes.

“Not yet. I’m C.C. Pronounced ‘C-2’ or ‘CeeCee,’ whichever works for you.”

“And I am Hubert von Vestra, advisor and humble servant to Lady Edelgard. Pleasure.” He gave her a bow as they reached the entrance of Byleth’s classroom. “Do you mind if I...have a word with Miss C.C?” Hubert asked furtively.

“Not at all,” Edelgard replied. She entered the building, leaving the two alone.

“You’ve become rather...close to Lady Edelgard, haven’t you?”

“She saved my life. It’s common to be a bit enamored by that.”

“And yet, this feeling appears to be mutual. I have known her for the majority of her life, and she tends to warm up very slowly. Despite this, she was quick to offer her room to you, and rarely allows you to leave her side...it’s almost as if she’s...hiding something about you...” Hubert got close and whispered to her.

“I trust Lady Edelgard’s judgement, and if she wishes to have you close by, that’s her choice. But if you give me  a single reason  to believe you may be plotting against her...you die.”

C.C. smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She strolled casually into class, as Hubert looked on with a scowl.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“All right, class, I finally finished grading Friday’s intermediate tactics quiz, so I’ll be passing these out,” Byleth declared. “Edelgard, A. Nice job. Felix, C. ‘Let me stab everything,’ no matter how valid a strategy it may be, is not an acceptable answer. Dorothea, B+, but I’ll be keeping the paper for blackmail material.”

Dorothea sighed. “That’s what I get for doodling...”

“Is...she serious?” whispered C.C.

“Probably not,” Dorothea answered from in front of her. “But you can never tell.”

“It’s that face of hers,” Felix chimed in. “She hardly shows any emotion at all.”

“OK, first off, y’all are terrible whisperers; I can hear all of you. Second, I smiled just the other day! Flayn can attest to that, right, Flayn?”

Flayn looked worried. “Um...well, true, but...it still wasn’t particularly big...”

“Thank you for your support,” Byleth sighed, getting out her hip flask. “Now, for today—“

A large boom sounded, shaking the classroom. Bernadetta screamed and hid under her chair, and Marianne fervently started praying. Linhardt looked up from his desk, glanced around, and promptly fell back asleep.

“OK, what in the however-many hells was that?” Byleth asked.

“I think it came from the Golden Deer classroom,” Caspar noted.

“Damnit, Claude...” she muttered. “I’m going to check in on them, Edelgard’sinchargedon’tstartawaroranythingbye!” She dashed out and into Manuela’s class.

There was silence for a few seconds. Finally, Sylvain made an observation:

“Hey, she dropped her hip flask.”

“Time to see what’s really in there, I see,” C.C. said. Sylvain stood up and unconsciously took a few steps away from her.

“All right, any last minute bets?” he asked, walking towards the flask. “No? Now, let’s see where the money goes!” He opened it and took a sip. He made an odd face. He took another sip.

“Uh...I have no idea what this is...I don’t... think  it’s alcohol?”

“Excuse me, but what is the procedure if none of the students guessed correctly?” Flayn asked.

“Then...everyone gets their money back, I suppose...”

“OK, I cleaned up in there,” Byleth said as she entered the classroom. “Now we can—“ She stopped and looked around. “OK, what are you doing with my flask, Sylvain?”

There was silence.

“There’s a school-wide betting pool on what you keep in there,” C.C. finally explained.

Byleth stared blankly. “Iced...tea.”

“YES! YES! VICTORY! ALL THE MONEY—EVERY LAST ONE—IS MINE! You all mocked me, but I was  right!  I was...”

Every looked at Linhardt, who cleared his throat as he sat down.

“Sorry, sorry, I just...got a bit excited.”

“So, what are you gonna use your newfound wealth for, Linhardt?” Caspar asked.

“Save it, like a responsible person. Oh, I’ll probably go out to eat sometime. Interested?”

“Sure, I’ll come!”

Byleth cleared her throat. “Now, if I could have your attention...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After school, Hubert made a beeline for the library, eager to begin his research. He collected books on recent history, sat down, and began to read. He was so engrossed, he hardly registered the conversation going on in the background.

“Ah, Flayn! I was looking for you,” said Linhardt. “Do you mind if I ask you some questions?”

“Not at all,” she replied. “Ask whatever you need to know!”

“You have a Major Crest of Cethleann, correct?”

Flayn nodded.

“I noticed that you, much like the Saint whose Crest you bear, have an affinity for healing magic.”

“Haha, I suppose I do. Its power augments that magic, so it makes sense that would gravitate toward it. You are very much the same in that regard, are you not?”

“Of course. My Crest was one of the reasons I chose to become a White Mage. However, the similarities don’t end there. I’ve asked around, and the people who know you all agree you have difficulties with detail-oriented tasks. Is that correct?”

“Sadly, yes. Professor Byleth has agreed to give me personal lessons on overcoming that difficulty. I am very grateful to her!”

“Well, I’ve been doing research on Saint Cethleann, and I found four different texts—all implying she had trouble with tasks of the same ilk.”

Flayn looked nervous. “That is an...interesting observation. What spurred you to perform such research?”

“Oh, I was just gazing at her statue and noticed how similar you two looked...”

She began to sweat. “Well...perhaps it is a strong family resemblance...”

“But all the records I found stated that Cethleann never married and had no children. That  does  fail to explain how her Crest could have been passed down to me, however...”

“I-I have to go now, my brother is calling me,” said a panicked Flayn, just before sprinting out of the room. Linhardt smiled as he looked after her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, Byleth, how was your day?” Sothis asked, munching on a cookie.

“You were  there,  Sothis,” she replied.

“I’m just trying to make conversation!” she retorted. Then, she smiled wryly and said, “You wanna know what happened to me this morning?”

“What?”

“I fought an invisible demon in the pantry,” she answered proudly.

Byleth stared at her blankly, then said, “Cool.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, when are we eating out?” Caspar asked Linhardt at dinner.

“I’m not sure,” he answered. “The Dining Hall’s always open, and it’s usually cheaper than going to a restaurant—“

He was interrupted by Byleth ringing the announcement bell. “Attention, everyone! Due to an incident in the pantry...” She shot a glare to the empty seat next to her. “...the Dining Hall will be closed for cleanup tomorrow. That is all.”

“Tomorrow, then,” Linhardt declared.

From the other chair next to Byleth, Jeralt sighed. “What did Sothis do this time...” he whispered.

“Fought an ‘invisible demon’ in the pantry.”

“...good goddess.”

“Yeah...” After a brief pause, Byleth mentioned, “Remember the time she ate a cookie in front of you?”

“How could I forget?” he chuckled. “You were...how old, at the time?”

“How should I know? You never told me.”

“Whatever it was, you had been talking about this imaginary friend of yours...remember the look on my face when it turned out she wasn’t so imaginary.”

Byleth giggled at the thought.

“Well, look at that!” said a shocked Jeralt. “You actually laughed!”

“Really?” she replied. “I guess it gets easier with time and practice!”

At the Golden Deer table, Leonie looked jealously at their animate conversation.

“See, why does  she  get all the attention from Captain Jeralt?” she complained.

“It’s funny,” Claude noted. “The two most insufferable students are in our house, and both of their names start with L.”

“What are you talking about?” asked a confused Leonie. “Lysithea left the Golden Deer.”

Back at the Black Eagles table, Dorothea, Edelgard, and C.C. chatted.

“What was that ‘blackmail materiel’ on your quiz, Dorothea?”  C.C. asked.

“I’m not going to tell you...obviously,” she answered, rolling her eyes. “It’s nothing too incriminating or personal, but I’d like to keep it secret for the time being.”

“And that’s your right,” Edelgard concurred. She stood up and said, “Excuse me; I should use the chambers quickly.”

When she was out of sight, C.C. whispered, “You can’t fool me: I  saw  those little hearts you doodled.”

“Unfortunately for you, I only wrote names on the back.”

She snorted. “As if it’s not incredibly obvious who you’re pining for.”

Dorothea was momentarily taken aback, but she quickly regained her composure.

“If you try anything funny,” she threatened, still smiling. “Just remember that I know quite a bit more magic than you.”

C.C. just smiled back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, what is this...Dorothea girl to you?” C.C. asked, jumping onto her bed.

“Dorothea?” Edelgard seemed a bit flustered by the question. “Well...she’s a hardworking student, and powerful Mage, a talented songstress...and a good friend. I am lucky to have her as an ally.”

“Are you sure about the friend part?” she teased.

“Oh, ha ha. Look, no matter how much I want it to happen, it can’t, for several reasons. First, I don’t even know if she’s romantically interested in women. Second, she’s a commoner, and I’m the heir to the entire Adrestian Empire. I couldn’t submit her to the rumor-mongering of narrow-minded nobles or the stresses of governing. Third...” She sighed. “I have an ambition: to unite Fodlan under a single banner; to crush the Church of Seiros and destroy the corrupt institution they support. To do that, I would make any sacrifice necessary, and I would rather die than give up that dream. A relationship would just...get in the way of that. Besides, Dorothea deserves someone who loves her above anything else...I can’t do that, even for her.”

“I can agree with that sentiment. Anyone you care for should be kept at a distance.”

“Do you speak from experience?”

“I speak from the way I live my life.”

Before Edelgard could respond, Ryuk staggered in.

“Ah, Ryuk. Where have you been all day?”

“You won’t believe me, but I got into a fight with a invisible gremlin,” he explained.

“Invisible...gremlin?” asked C.C. In confusion. “Do you think it was another Shinigami?”

“No, I can see Shinigami. I tripped over it in the pantry, and it ended up pushing a shelf onto me.”

“Well, that explains the announcement at dinner.”

Byleth walked into the doorway. “Hey, have either of you seen Hubert? He wasn’t at dinner.”

Ryuk starting chuckling. “Oh  ho!  Now,  this  is interesting!”

Blocking out the Death God’s laughter, Edelgard answered, “Probably in the library. I gave him an assignment, and...well, you know how he gets.”

“I hope you didn’t ask him to do your homework,” she joked.

“No, not at all.” She wrote a short note on a scrap of paper and handed it to her teacher. “Here. It’s an order for him to get a proper amount of sleep.”

“Thanks, Edelgard! I’ll hand this right to him.” She set off, closing the door behind her.

“So, are you going to tell us what you were laughing about?” asked C.C.

“Well, it requires some explanation. You see...the eyes of the Shinigami are special. We we look at someone, we can see their name and lifespan—unless they own a Death Note, in which case we can only see the name. But that girl,” he said, pointing at the door. “I couldn’t see either.”

Edelgard’s eyes widened in shock. “Neither? ...what could that mean?”

“Well, it  could  mean that your teacher is secretly a Shinigami, but that doesn’t seem very likely,” remarked Ryuk.

“Well, it confirms one thing I always thought about her: she’s special, one way or another.”

“So, what’s next?” C.C. asked.

“For now,” Edelgard said, looking at the Death Note. “...I have some reading to catch up on.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Edelgard was once again woken up by Ryuk eating an apple at 6:00 AM.

“Didn’t I tell you to eat more quietly?” she mumbled drowsily.

“I know, that’s why I chewed louder!” he chuckled.

“Hey, give her a break, Ryuk,” berated C.C. “She stayed up until midnight reading the rules of the Death Note and fell asleep muttering about Dorothea and—“

The Death Note flew through the air, narrowly missing her head, hit the wall behind her, and landed on her bed.

“I can see why you don’t use bows.”

“That was just a warning shot,” Edelgard lied.

“And...what are you going to throw for the  real  one?”

In response, she grabbed Ryuk’s apple and threw it at C.C. She missed again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, where are we getting breakfast?” C.C. asked, exiting Edelgard’s room.

“Worry not; I would be proud to pay for meals in town,” offered Hubert.

“...Hubert, how long have you been standing outside my room?”

“Half an hour, Lady Edelgard. Now, I can provide for you, myself, C.C, and one other classmate...say, Dorothea?”

Edelgard was taken aback. “There’s...no need, Hubert.”

“Nonsense. If I have the funds, I should feed as many classmates as I can, to keep them motivated and nourished,” he explained.

“Well, yes, but...why Dorothea?”

“Do you have someone else in mind?”

“...no.”

“Very well, then.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Isn’t she  incredible?”  said Dorothea wistfully.

Ingrid raised an eyebrow. “I can understand why you feel the need to pine, but if she’s so incredible, why not tell her how you feel?”

“Look, that wouldn’t work out for either of us,” she sighed. “She hasn’t confessed yet, so that leaves two possibilities. If she doesn’t like me back, telling her how I feel will just make things awkward for the both of us. If she  does  like me, and—knowing Edie—she’s come up with fifteen reasons why we can’t be together...some of them even reasonable. If she can move past that, she’ll come to me. If she can’t...well, I suppose she never really wanted me that badly, anyway.”

“What if she’s waiting for you to make the first move?” suggested Ingrid.

Dorothea giggled. “Are you sure we’re thinking of the same Edelgard?”

As if on cue, she approached them and said, “Excuse me, Dorothea?”

“Ah, Edie! We were just talking about you.”

A bead of sweat formed on her forehead.

“Yes, well...Hubert has agreed to provide C.C. and I with meals in town for today, and he offered to let you come along...care to join us?”

“I’d love to!” she replied with a smile. “We should probably head out soon, if we want to make it to class on time.”

“Agreed,” Edelgard said, mentally breathing a sigh of relief.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Edelgard!” Lysithea cried, running up to her table. “I need to speak with you!”

“Lysithea, have you not noticed that we are preparing to order breakfast?” Hubert said, coldly.

“Then I’ll join you—it’s a good excuse to eat,” she said, taking a seat. He glared at her.

“I am treating Lady Edelgard, C.C., and Dorothea to a meal. If you wish for food, you pay your own way.”

“Fine, fine; That’s not what I came here for, anyway. You weren’t there, Edelgard, but at the end of our second battle with the Death Knight, a mysterious character made an appearance...the Flame Emperor.”

“Really?” Edelgard asked, putting on a flawless facade of ignorance. “What did he do?”

“He—or she; we couldn’t tell with the mask they wore—ordered the Death Knight to fall back, and shared a few words about how they would ‘change the world,’” Lysithea explained. “Then, both of them teleported away. Luckily, Bernadetta was in the room with me, and she painted me  this  likeness.” She enthusiastically slammed the picture onto the table.

“Wow...how did you get Bernadetta to do it?” asked Dorothea, as C.C. studied it.

“Cake. Now, I’ll cut to the chase: I’m creating a Flame Emperor Investigation Team, and I’m inviting you and Hubert.”

Edelgard raised an eyebrow. “Could you elaborate?”

“Of course. Basically, I’m getting together all the best, brightest students to figure out who this Flame Emperor is, what they’re planning, and how to stop it.”

“And you’re not inviting me? I’m insulted,” Dorothea joked.

“So, why us?” Edelgard asked.

“Well, I felt like we should include one of the house leaders, and you were the obvious choice,” explained Lysithea. “and Hubert is excellent at research and tailing people.”

He nodded slyly.

“Don’t you need permission from a teacher or the administration to start a group?” Edelgard asked.

“Yeah, but Professor Byleth was completely behind it, and when I asked Seteth—“ She cleared her throat. “‘I see no harm in allowing an investigation club, but I must emphasize caution, and please leave the important work to the Knights of Seiros.’”

Dorothea giggled. “That’s a great impression, Lysithea.”

“Oh, there’s more where  that  came from. For example: ‘Claude invited Flayn to the academy’s “mine craft” server, but Edelgard keeps putting TNT inside her house and blowing it up.’”

Hubert sighed. “If you’re done with your asinine ramblings, we should probably start thinking of what we’re going to eat.”

“Right...so, Edelgard, are you in?” Lysithea asked.

“I’d be happy to join,” Edelgard replied.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Now, class, we’re going to be doing something special this next week!” Byleth announced.

“Something special?” asked Caspar. “What?”

“A class field trip through kingdom territory!”

“WHAT?!” Bernadetta shrieked. Everyone turned to look at her. “Oh, you know...I’m just...not fond of traveling...” She hid under her chair.

“If you’re not comfortable going, you can stay and attend Hanneman or Manuela’s class instead,” suggested Byleth.

“I-I don’t think that’s any better...” she stammered. “B-but why are we taking this trip in the first place?”

Flayn frowned. “The fault lies with me. I am deeply sorry, Bernadetta.”

“Hold on, how is the fault yours, Flayn?” questioned a confused Petra.

“You see, my brother is heading out to Rhodos Coast (where my mother happens to be buried), in Kingdom territory, to drive off the believers of the Western Church who have taken it over.”

Linhardt opened an eye. “Say, isn’t that land sacred to Saint Cichol? And Seteth—“

“I INSISTED UPON GOING WITH HIM,” Flayn continued, trying to speak over Linhardt. “BUT HE ONLY RELENTED WHEN I SUGGESTED THE PROFESSOR AND HER CLASS COULD COME. So really, this is my fault.”

“Hey, I’ve been planning a Kingdom trip for a while, now,” Byleth said. “This was just a good excuse. Anyway, preparations! We’re leaving Sunday morning, so be packed by then...you’ll need a weeks worth of clothes, toiletries, and maybe swimsuits, if we have some time at the coast, and Seteth doesn’t immediately ban it.”

“Swimming, huh?” remarked Sylvain with a wink. “Well, you better look out, ladies, because I have quite the beach bod!”

“ _Goddess yes_, ” Felix whispered.

“What was that?”

“I said ‘I hate you.’”

“Yeah, that checks out.”

Marianne raised her hand. “Professor? Will we have to split into pairs for the trip?”

“Ah, yes! Everyone needs to pick a Travel Buddy! Basically, you need to stay together the whole trip to make sure nobody gets lost. You’ll also be sharing tents, inn rooms... possibly  beds, but that’s more of worst-case scenario.”

Bernadetta and Marianne simultaneously stood up, raised their hands, and asked: “Do we have to pick a travel buddy?” They stared at each other, made several vague hand gestures, and sat down.

“Never mind, we’re good,” Mariannesaid.

Sylvain got up from his seat. “Looks like it’s time to find a date!”

“Just remember: I’ll be waiting here when everyone else rejects you.”

“Felix, you  wound  me!”

“Good idea.”

“Hubert, I presume you’d like to be my Travel Buddy?” Edelgard said.

“Ah, there, you are mistaken, milady. I thought it best for you to pick someone you are comfortable with.”

“That’s surprisingly considerate of you, Hubert,” she noted, raising an eyebrow. “C.C?”

“Actually, I’m going with Hubert,” she replied. “He said he wanted to keep an eye on me.”

“...in that case, I leave the choice to you. I trust you to pick a suitable partner for me.” Hubert bowed and walked toward the crowd of students.

“Paralyzed with indecision?” C.C. teased.

“As much as I hate to admit it, yes,” Edelgard said. “But I trust him. He’s known me for more than ten years, and even his worst choice can’t be that bad.”

Hubert returned, with Dorothea in tow.

“Hi, Edie!” she said cheerfully.

_It’s that bad._


	5. Chapter 5

“So, you think Dorothea should be my Travel Buddy?” Edelgard asked, sweating profusely.

_Oh goddess no this is a terrible idea,_ she thought.

“Yes,” replied Hubert. “Do you object, milady?”

_No no no say no don’t agree with him I can’t sleep in the same tent with Dorothea no no say no_

“I’d be happy to have her,” she said.

_Weak_

“I’m glad you agree, Edie!” Dorothea remarked, a big smile on her face.

_Oh goddess that smile the way she calls me Edie I love it_

_But we can’t be together I can’t subject her to that, especially with declaring war on the church and all_

_She’d understand if you explained it to her_

_But she may not like me and that would make things awkward oh goddess what do I do_

“Lady Edelgard? Are you all right?”

“Hm—what?”

“You were staring off into space...” Dorothea said worriedly. “Are you feeling OK?”

“It’s...I’m just a bit light-headed, that’s all. Excuse me.” She returned to her desk and sat down, clutching her head.

“So, Hubie...you want to tell me why you’re trying to get me and Edie together?” Dorothea asked.

“Heh...guilty as charged.”

“This is uncharacteristically...nice of you. I always thought of you as someone who only cared about Edelgard and helping her.”

“That is true. In fact, it is the very reason I think you should be with her romantically.”

“Oh? Do tell...”

“I do much for Lady Edelgard. I protect her from those who would do her harm, assist her with royal business, and perform any course of action she requests of me. But there is one thing I cannot do.”

“Which is?”

“Make her happy—truly happy,” he explained, putting a hand on Dorothea’s shoulder. “And that, Dorothea, is something you are spectacular at.”

“You mean...she  _does_ like me?” she asked, blushing.

“I could not be more certain of it. Sadly, she appears to be denying her feelings. But it is my duty to do what is best for Lady Edelgard, even if she might not agree with it...and I know that  you  are the best for her.”

Dorothea smiled widely. “Thanks, Hubie. Your support means a lot to me...”

At that moment, Sylvain approached.

“Hey, Dorothea!” he said enthusiastically.

“I’m taken, and I’d say no either way,” she answered bluntly, not even looking at him. He sighed and trudged back to Felix.

“No luck?”

“No luck. I guess I have to settle for you...”

Felix’s eye twitched.

“OK, does anyone  not  have a buddy?” shouted Byleth.

Lysithea and Flayn raised their hands.

“OK, do either of you vehemently object to being paired together?”

“I have nothing against Flayn.”

“It would be a great honor to be partners with Lysithea!”

“Perfect! I just need to write down all the pairs, and...uh, class is dismissed, your homework is to start packing.”

C.C. raised her hand. “Professor, doesn’t it seem a little early to let class out?”

“It’s clear you’ve never been in this class before.”

Caspar chuckled. “Yeah, remember the week where you got sick?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_Byleth sat languidly at her desk, holding her head._

_“I have a headache today, so we’re watching a funny cat video, then you can go home.”_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“In my defense, it was a  really  bad headache,” she clarified. “Hey, Flayn, do you need any help packing?”

“That would be most appreciated, Professor Byleth!” she answered. “Do you want to come, Lysithea?”

She scoffed. “Do you think me a child who cannot organize their own bag without assistance? I will not take that sort of condescending attitude!”

“Yikes, Lysithea,” Sylvain remarked. “You don’t have to be so harsh; I’m pretty sure she’s younger than you!”

“Oh, no, I am most certainly older than Miss Ordelia!” Flayn giggled.

Lysithea opened her mouth to speak, shut it, stuck out her arm to compare Flayn’s height to hers, and sat down with a look of despair on her face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So do you know anything about this ‘Flame Emperor?’” asked C.C. as they headed back to their room to pack.

“Well, of course I know him,” Edelgard answered with a smile. “He’s me.”

She raised an eyebrow, but soon relaxed her expression.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. What happened with this ‘Death Knight?’”

Edelgard turned to answer as they entered their room, but stopped short when she saw what was inside.

“Ryuk, what are all those apple cores doing on the floor?!”

The Shinigami shrugged. “I was hungry.”

“You can’t just leave them lying around! You need to get rid of them properly, or people will get suspicious!”

“Fine, fine,” he said, scooping up the cores and strolling out the door, to find Byleth standing right outside Edelgard’s room.

“This is it!” shouted Sothis. “It’s the invisible demon!”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” Byleth whispered, putting down her box of random items. “Hey, demon! Where are you going with those apple cores?!”

Ryuk froze.

“Throwing them away, right? One apple for yes, two for no.”

He held up one apple core.

“Good. Don’t be a litterbug.” She picked up her box and walked inside Edelgard’s room. Sothis facepalmed.

“Hey, how are you two holding up?” she asked.

“Quite well, Professor. What brings you here?”

“Oh, you know, just going around seeing if anyone lost anything. Is any of this stuff yours?” She held up the box. Edelgard sifted through it, inspecting a joke book, an unopened bottle of perfume, and a croqueted venus flytrap.

“Ah, I believe this is mine,” she finally said, holding up a white glove. “Thank you for finding it.”

“You’re welcome. Hey, C.C, have you lost anything?”

“No, but I appreciate the gesture.”

“All right, I’ll be off. Have a good day, you two!” Byleth carried on to the next room, and Edelgard turned to C.C.

“Now, here’s what I’ve accomplished so far...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That night, Caspar and Linhardt sat in a restaurant for dinner.

“There sure are a lot of couples here...” Linhardt noted.

“Yeah, makes us stand out like a sore thumb! Speaking of couples, did you see that Dorothea and Edelgard are Travel Buddies?”

“Really? I hope they finally confess; they make a cute couple.”

“I’m honestly a bit jealous...do you ever wish you were in a relationship, Linhardt?”

“Hmm...sometimes, I suppose. But then I remember that I’d have to spend time with  _them_ instead of  _you_.”

“Haha! Yeah, I feel the same way.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Edelgard lay in bed awake long after the sun set.

“...C.C, are you awake?” she whispered.

“Yes, why?”

“How long should the gap between the deaths of corrupt nobles be?”

“How long were you thinking?”

“Oh, about...a week or two.”

“Really? I’d say a month or more. You have to avoid suspicion.”

“Yes, but if people are aware that they’re being killed, it will strike fear into the hearts of the nobility, and garner support from those who oppose them. Especially if the Flame Emperor takes credit for the deaths.”

“But you’ll eventually be ousted as the Flame Emperor, won’t you? How will your friends react?”

“Well...if I give them a chance at redemption...”

“In what way?”

“I can use the Geass to have someone deliver a message, demanding recompense for their evil deeds. If they fail to deliver within a few days, they die.”

C.C. grinned. “I like it.”

“Of course, it’s better if I wait until  _after_ the deaths garner attention to send out letters, so I’ll start with the ones beyond redemption...” Edelgard chuckled. “Things are going to get  _very_ interesting...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most Sylvain/Felix fanfics I read are either Established Relationship/Mutual Pining, or Sylvain crushing on an oblivious Felix. Well, I intend to turn that on its head. Meanwhile, over in Linhardt/Caspar, both are equally oblivious...


	6. Chapter 6

On Sunday morning, Byleth and Seteth patiently waited by the monastery’s exit for the Black Eagles students.

“What time did you tell them to come?” Seteth asked.

“9:00. Of course, I doubt everyone will be there by then—Edelgard’s not a morning person, and Linhardt’s the exact opposite of one.”

“And we leave half an hour after?”

“Right...so, the various churches? How are they different?” 

“Well, all three base their teachings on the myths of Seiros and the Four Saints, but each interprets them in a different way. The Western Church views the Saints as divine, and as worthy of worship as Seiros herself. The Central Church disagrees: while they are important figures, they are not gods. The Eastern Church does not believe in deities at all—they follow the teachings of Seiros, but do not revere her as a deity.”

“Ah...and so they took over Rhodos Coast, claiming that the Central Church is failing to give Cichol the reverence he deserves.”

Seteth sighed. “Sadly, yes. This blatant act of aggression marks them not just as a different creed, but a deviant group seeking to challenge the Central Church’s.”

“And...you think it’s in the right?”

“Well, there is rarely any right or wrong in dealings of bloodshed, but I know this: Cichol would not want to see his sacred land fought over like this.”

The two continued to chat for another 15 minutes, when Ferdinand approached them with his luggage.

“Hello, Professor! Hello, Seteth! I hope I’m not too early,” he said.

“Not at all,” Byleth replied. “Better early than late, as I always say. On the topic of lateness, how’s everyone else doing on time management?”

“Let’s see...” he thought. “Petra was in the middle of braiding her hair when I checked in on her, Bernadetta and Marianne were getting their bags together outside Bernadetta’s room, and...well, that’s all I know. It’s worth noting that I didn’t see Edelgard, C.C, or Linhardt at breakfast.”

“Linhardt, I understand; Edelgard, I get—but why C.C? Edelgard’s told me she’s been waking her up early these days.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In Edelgard’s room, Ryuk and C.C. stood by her bed, listening intently.

“Dorothea...” she said in her sleep. “...your lips are so sweet...”

Ryuk stifled a laugh.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Well, whatever it is, it’ll be fine as long as they arrive before we leave,” Seteth reassured.

“I certainly hope they do,” Hubert remarked.

Ferdinand shrieked and jumped away, but quickly regained his composure and cleared his throat.

“Uh...Hubert! It’s good to see you!”

“And you as well, Ferdinand,” he replied, bowing. “Anyway, can I trust you to watch over my bags? You see, once Edelgard and C.C. are ten minutes late, I will find it necessary to seek them out and bring them here—by force, if necessary.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Byleth said, looking over the horizon to see Petra, Bernadetta, and Marianne hurriedly making their way to the carriages.

“All right, who are we missing?” she asked.

“Edelgard, C.C, Felix, Sylvain, Caspar, Linhardt, Dorothea, Lysithea, and Flayn,” Seteth listed off. As if in response, Dorothea and Lysithea ran up to them.

“We’re not late, are we?” she asked nervously.

“No, no; you’re right on time,” Byleth replied after glancing at her watch. Felix also walked up, dragging Sylvain (who had a large slap mark on his face) behind him.

“Women troubles, again?” Byleth asked dryly.

“Yeah...you could say that...” he groaned.

Dorothea frowned. “What did you say to her?”

“I asked if she would miss me while I was on the field trip.”

“And she slapped you for that?”

“She didn’t slap him,” Felix explained. “I did.”

Everyone stared at him.

“Why?” Ferdinand asked.

He shrugged. “I hadn’t harmed him for a couple weeks, and...I felt that should change.”

Seteth started at him sternly. “Felix, physical altercations between students are strictly forbidden—especially for such a flimsy reason. Since no one was seriously hurt, I will give you  one  warning—further rulebreaking will result in detention. Do I make make myself clear?”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Yes. Very clear.”

“Good. Now, has anyone seen Flayn? She shouldn’t be so late; I packed her bags for her...”

After a few more minutes, Flayn ran up to the carriages.

“I apologize for my late arrival,” she huffed. “I had to unpack all my bags and then pack them again.”

Seteth sighed and put his hand on his face. Byleth glanced at her watch again.

“9:07. Three minutes before you fetch Edelgard, Hubert.”

“Indeed. Although, with how the morning has been going, I wouldn’t be surprised if they came running down the steps of the front gate this instant.”

That instant, C.C. came running down the steps of the front gate. Edelgard followed close behind, waving an axe.

“C.C, IF YOU TELL ANYONE, I WILL  **MURDER** YOU!” she shouted.

“Ha! I dare you to try!” C.C. yelled back.

“Whoa, whoa, what’s going on here?” Byleth asked standing between the two.

“She was eavesdropping me as I  _slept_!”

“...how?”

“Look, I talk in my sleep—“

“Hey, Dorothea, you want to know what she was saying?” C.C. teased.

“NO NO NO—“

Dorothea covered her ears. “Hey, if Edie doesn’t want me to know, I don’t want to hear it.”

Edelgard blushed.

“Look, just...” stammered Seteth, trying to find the right words. “Put your axe back in the convoy, and stand with your partner.”

Edelgard took a deep breath and did as instructed.

“It was...kind of you to tell off C.C. like you did,” she told Dorothea.

“Don’t worry about it, Edie,” she replied. “There are plenty of dreams  _I’d_ rather you not know about, too!”

She blushed again.

“Now we’re just missing Caspar and Linhardt...” Byleth noted. Everyone looked toward the steps of the front gate. 

“Well,” Seteth said after a few seconds. “Until they get back, let’s go over seating arrangements. There will be two carriages, each holding seven students. I will supervise one, and Byleth will oversee the other.”

“Seteth’s will have Flayn, Lysithea, Marianne, Bernadetta, and Linhardt and Caspar—if they ever come.”

Everyone looked toward the steps of the front gate again.

“Mine will have Edelgard, Dorothea, Hubert, C.C, Sylvain, Felix, Ferdinand, and Petra. Any questions? Objections?”

Edelgard raised her hand. “What will the seating arrangements be?” she asked.

“They aren’t set in stone, but everyone needs to sit next to their Travel Buddy.”

Oh goddess no this can only end badly

“Well, it’s 9:15 now,” Byleth said, glancing at her watch. “We start loading in 5 minutes, so Caspar—“

Everyone heard a loud scream coming from the monastery. Every looked toward the steps of the front gate to see Caspar frantically dashing towards them. In one hand, he held two suitcases. In the other, he held Linhardt. He finally reached Byleth and promptly collapsed onto the ground.

“All right, everyone’s accounted for,” she said casually.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Now,” said Seteth, as the carriage started rolling down the road. “I want to make one thing clear: on trips, I require as much quiet time as possible—if it is too loud, I inevitably buckle down to stress. With that in mind, please try to keep the level of noise down to a minimum.”

Flayn sighed.

Linhardt, meanwhile, reclined onto

Caspar’s lap. “Hey, do you mind being my pillow?” he asked.

“Not at all! Of course, I might try taking a nap myself—what with mister No-Noise over here.”

Flayn giggled. Seteth shot the two of them a look.

Byleth’s carriage, on the other hand, was much more lively.

“Who wants to play a travel game?!” she asked loudly.

“I will burn in the Six Hells before I even consider participating in your insipid drivel,” Felix declared.

Hubert shrugged. “I see no harm in it. What did you have in mind?”

“I brought Mad Libs.”

“Really? I’m rather partial to that game.”

C.C. raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t have expected that from you, Hubert.”

He chuckled sinisterly. “What can I say? I’m a man of surprises.”

“It’s sounds fun to me!” Dorothea said eagerly. “Don’t you agree, Edie?”

“Hmm?” replied Edelgard, who had been lost in thought. “Oh, yes. That would be fine.”

“Perfect!” Byleth cried whipping out the book and a quill pen. “All right, Hubert can go first: noun.”

“Murder,” he said bluntly.

“Wait a minute, murder is a verb,” Sylvain pointed out. 

“It can be used as both.”

“But it’s not like you can walk up to ‘a murder’ and pick it up.”

“Do you even know what a noun is? To use the layman’s term: ‘a person, place, or thing.’”

“I know, and it’s none of those!”

Everyone stared at Sylvain. Felix facepalmed.

“Look, have you ever consumed any form of detective media? You should be familiar with the phrase ‘the murder.’”

“Yes, but it’s not a physical—“

“Things don’t have to be physical to be a noun! Things don’t even have to  exist  to be a noun! ‘Sylvain’s sense of style’ is a noun, is it not?!”

Dorothea gasped. “Oh. My. Goddess.”

“Hubert, did you just...” Edelgard stammered.

“...roast Sylvain?” finished Byleth.

“Did I stutter?”

Felix stood up. I’ll show you stuttering, you—“

“Wait, wait. Felix, are you  defending me?”  Sylvain asked.

“No, I just wanted an excuse to punch Hubert in the face.”

He scoffed. “Try it.”

“Please do not!” cried Petra. “It is not a good idea to be fighting in a moving vehicle.”

Felix glared at Hubert, but reluctantly sat down.

“Hey...thanks for standing up for me—“ Sylvain tried to say, but Felix punched him in the arm.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At 7 o’clock that night, the carriages pulled up to a clearing, coming to a stop.

“All right, everyone! Let’s stop here for the night!” Byleth declared, hopping off the carriage. “Does anyone here  not  know how to set up a tent?”

Hubert furrowed his brow. “Why even ask? We all took the wildness survival seminar.”

Marianne timidly raised her hand. “I—I transferred in  _after_ that class...”

“As did I,” added Flayn.

“Me too,” C.C. chimed in.

He sighed. “I’ll guide you along, C.C.”

“Great! Now, Seteth: would you rather set up our tent, or gather wood for the fire?”

He blinked. “...our...tent?”

Byleth raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Did Rhea not tell you we’d have to share one?”

“It seems Rhea never tells me anything, nowadays,” he sighed. “Very well. You can gather firewood, and I will erect the tent.”

Sylvain chuckled.

“Choose your next words very carefully, Sylvain,” Seteth said sternly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a dinner of s’mores, Seteth stood up and yawned.

“Well, I’d best get to sleep,” he said.

“Sleep?” Lysithea replied incredulously. “It’s barely 7:45!”

“You don’t seem to realize how little rest I get on a regular basis. Anyway, Byleth’s in charge. Don’t talk too loudly, keep out of trouble, and Flayn,” he ordered, pointing at her. “Be in bed by eight.”

“Yes, brother,” she sighed.

After Seteth fell asleep, Ferdinand asked, “So, what do we do, now?”

“We could tell stories of ghosts,” suggested Petra.

“NO! PLEASE, DON’T—“ Lysithea screamed. “Uh, I’d rather not participate in such childish pursuits.”

“Hey, I have something planned,” Sylvain said with a wink. He pulled out a container of salt and a spoon.

“...what is this?” C.C. asked.

“Let’s have a little round of...Truth or Dare!”

Petra narrowed her eyebrows. “I am not familiar with that game. Could you be explaining it?”

“Basically: when it’s your turn you pick a person. They choose either ‘Truth’ or ‘Dare.’ For truth, you ask them a question, and they have to tell the truth. If they choose dare, you tell them something they need to do.”

“Ah...but what if they don’t want to?”

“Then, they have to eat a spoonful of salt.” Sylvain grinned. “And they can’t have water.”

“Well, I might as well be joining,” she said.

“Sounds fun!” Flayn added. “May I play, as well?”

“That’s fine with me—though I doubt your brother would approve,” Byleth answered.

“I know. That is why I wish to.”

“...wow,” said a speechless Sylvain. “That’s...pretty hardcore, Flayn.”

“Yes, I am a rebellious child.”

“Anyway!” said Byleth. “Let’s go over the rules. Number one! Nothing too lewd—at least half of us are still underage, after all. Number two! No ‘tell me’ dares. Number three! No daring people to take a spoonful of salt. Number four! You can’t pick someone who has already gone. Now...Flayn! You can go first.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Sylvain! Truth or dare?”

“Dare—of course!” he replied with a wink.

“All right: I dare you to not speak a single word to any women for the rest of this trip—including the professor!”

He silently gave her a thumbs-up.

“Wait, you’re really doing it?” Dorothea asked. He nodded.

“So, Felix. Truth or Dare?”

He scoffed. “Dare. I’m no coward.”

Sylvain raised an eyebrow. “Kiss the person here you find most attractive.”

Nobody spoke for a few second. Eventually, the silence was broken by Felix groaning loudly.

“Look, I want to make one thing clear: I hate everyone here.”

“Uh, OK...?”

“You just  happen  to be the one I hate the least.” With that, he passionately kissed Sylvain on the cheek.

Sylvain opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

“Lysithea. Truth or dare.”

“Truth—of course,” she replied confidently.

“Tell everyone how and why I got the cake I threw at Sylvain last week.”

Everyone looked at her, and she sighed.

“...I gave it to him...”

“ And why.”

“ I gave it to him to keep him from telling everyone I was stuffing my face with cake, **OK?! I DIDN’T WANT PEOPLE TO THINK OF ME AS A CHILD**! ” She sat down and pouted.

“Lysithea...it’s all right,” Edelgard comforted. “It doesn’t matter how you act, or what we do. I can’t speak for the others, but I see you as neither a child, nor an adult—I see you as a friend and ally.”

She slowly looked up.

“...thanks.”

“Do you need a moment?” asked Dorothea.

“No, I’m fine. Hubert! Truth...or dare?”

“Hmm...” he mused. “Dare.”

Lysithea grinned. “Sing ‘Hit or Miss.’”

Dorothea giggled. 

“Here comes the salt,” Felix whispered.

Instead to everyone’s surprise, Hubert cleared his throat.

“Hit or Miss—I guess you never miss, huh?”

_Oh goddess, he’s actually doing it,_ thought Edelgard. Lysithea stifled a laugh.

“You’ve got a boyfriend; I bet he doesn’t kiss ya!”

Lysithea burst out laughing.

“He’ll go out; find another girl and he won’t miss ya!”

“Stop! Stop!” she laughed. “I can’t take any more!”

“Oh? Good, because that’s all I know.” He turned to Edelgard. “Lady Edelgard: Truth or Dare?”

She was a bit confused by his choice.

_Why would he choose me...? Oh, I see...by giving me a harmless truth or dare, he’s protecting me from a potentially embarrassing one from someone else..._

“Truth,” she finally said.

Hubert chuckled. “Who do you have romantic feelings for?”

Beads of sweat formed on Edelgard’s forehead.

“...hand me the salt.”

Dorothea passed her the salt with a worried look on her face. She poured out a spoonful, swallowed it, and immediately started to hack and wheeze.

“Are you all right, Lady Edelgard? Do require something to drink?”

“Hey, no water allowed!” objected Sylvain, who had recovered from Felix’s kiss.

“Iced tea isn’t water,” Byleth noted, tossing her hip flask to Hubert, who poured it down Edelgard’s throat.

“I’d thank you, but it’s ultimately your fault in the first place, so...” she said weakly. Hubert smirked.

“Dorothea...Truth or Dare?”

“I’ll go with...Dare!”

“Very well. I dare you to sleep with earplugs in tonight.”

She frowned. “Um...I always sleep with earplugs.”

“In that case, it’ll be an easy dare. I’m heading to bed, now. Good night.” She stormed off to her tent.

“...I think you were a bit hard on her, Hubert.”

“Well, gentleness was never my specialty.”

Dorothea sighed. “I suppose that’s true...Linhardt! Truth or Dare?”

He opened one eye as he lifted his head from Caspar’s lap. “How am I supposed to pick?”

“Well, I have a Truth in mind!” she giggled.

“Dare, then.”

“I dare you...to sleep without a blanket tonight.”

“Fine. Caspar, Truth or Dare?”

“Dare—of course!” he said confidently.

“I dare you to be my blanket tonight.”

“Sure! Although you could have just asked.”

“Gay,” muttered Felix.

“What did you say?” Sylvain asked.

“I said, ‘I hate you.’”

“...All right, then.”

“Ferdinand!” Caspar said. “Truth or Dare?”

“There haven’t been too many truths, lately, so...truth!”

“Why are you always shouting ‘I am Ferdinand von Aegir!’ mid-battle?”

Ferdinand groaned and put his was in his hands.

“So, once, when I was a child, I forgot how to pronounce my last name. Long story short, I shouted ‘I am Ferdinand von Ay-ger!’ in front of my father and all his friends.”

Lysithea and Flayn burst out laughing.

“Yes, yes, very funny. Bernadetta! Truth or Dare?”

She shrieked. “M-me?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” Ferdinand chuckled. “Truth or Dare?”

“Uh...Truth?”

“Who wrote that really great story that showed up in the library a while ago?”

Bernadetta stared in shock.

“‘Tales of Justice,’ was it? Named after the main character?”

“Oh, yeah! I loved that one!” Sylvain chimed in. “It was so emotional, and suspenseful...and the illustrations were great, to!”

Bernadetta continued to stare.

“Tomas said you were the one who left it there, so I figured you might know who wrote it...“

“It was me,” she finally answered.

“What?”

“I wrote it. And drew the pictures, too. And I’m so sorry that—“

“Don’t apologize!” Lysithea interrupted. “You’re a spectacular author, so be proud of it!”

Bernadetta blushed.

“Umm...Marianne! Truth or Dare?”

She thought hard for a moment, before answering, “...Dare.”

“Oh, uh...I dare you to...to let me...toletmebraidyourhairnextmorning!” she blurted out.

“I...I see. Well, I accept. That sounds...rather nice, actually.”

“Lesbian,” muttered Felix.

“What was that?”

“I said, ‘I hate puppies.’”

“Oh? I see we have something on common,” Hubert noted.

“Petra...” Marianne said quietly. “Truth or Dare?”

“I will choose...Dare!”

“I...I dare you...” She took a deep breath. “Spell ‘pneumonia.’”

“P-n-e-u-m-o-n-i-a,” Petra answered without skipping a beat.

“...wow, that’s impressive,” Dorothea said. “How’d you know that off the top of your head?”

“Practice. I have difficulty with grammar, not spelling. Flayn, you are the last remaining, correct?”

“Yes.”

“So, Truth or Dare?”

“Hmm...Truth!”

“What is...the color that is your favorite?”

Felix groaned.

“Blue—like the ocean!” she replied enthusiastically. 

“All right, everyone’s had a turn, so we can stop now. Everybody get to bed!”

“But it’s only eight!” Lysithea complained.

“Hey, we’ve been traveling all day,” pointed out Ferdinand. “We’re probably all tired, whether we realize it or not.”

“Yes, and we must be waking up early next morning,” added Petra.

“And I have to head to sleep at eight, anyway,” Flayn compounded.

“Fine,” Lysithea sighed. Everyone entered their respective tents, leaving Byleth alone by the fire.

“...OK, they’re gone,” she said, holding up a small pile of s’mores. Sothis grabbed them and enthusiastically started eating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not sorry


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Dorothea awoke with a yawn. She looked over to see Edelgard, still sleeping soundly.

“...oh, should I wake her up?” she asked herself. “It’d be nice to talk to her, but...she’s so cute when she sleeps!” After realizing she said that out loud, she sheepishly exited the tent, to find Byleth, Ferdinand, Lysithea, and Hubert sitting around the campfire. 

“Oh, are you making breakfast?” she asked, noticing the pancakes the Professor was making.

“That we are,” she answered. “As you can see, we have a few options...”

“What’s that about delicious pancakes?” C.C. said, sticking her head out of the tent.

Byleth gave her an odd look.

“Yes, we have pancakes—or sausages, or eggs. Which will it be, Dorothea?”

“Hmm...I think I’ll go with...pancakes!” 

The professor nodded picked up the batter.

“Excuse me, Professor, but why do you have all these...cooking supplies?” Ferdinand asked.

“Oh, from my mercenary days—we’d cook from a campfire almost every morning, so I bought some specialized gear in order to have some variety.” She sighed wistfully. “Ah, those were the days...just me, Dad, and the company, traversing around Fódlan...this really brings be back, y’know?”

Sylvain stormed out of his tent.

“OK, who messed with my hair?!” he demanded.

Ferdinand stared at him, confused.

“What do you mean, ‘messed with your hair?’”

He turned around and pointed to a small patch on the back of his head.

“Someone cut off a piece of my hair while I was sleeping!”

“Perhaps you started balding prematurely,” Felix suggested, also exiting the tent.

“Oh,  _ha ha_ , Felix! Tell me, do you have an  _actual_ idea of who did this?!”

I  _have an actual idea of who did this_,  Dorothea thought, trying not to giggle.

“Hey, let’s not start the day with an argument,” Ferdinand said, trying to calm them down.

Sylvain sighed. “Fine. But if I figure out who it was, they’re gonna get it!”

“Get what? More of your hair?” Felix joked.

Byleth cleared her throat. “Hey, Lysithea, is Flayn still asleep?”

She nodded. “She’s quite a deep sleeper...odd, considering she’s afraid of sleeping.”

“What? How you be  _afraid_ of sleeping?” asked an incredulous Dorothea.

“According to her, she’s ‘scared she might not wake up.’ Childish nonsense, if you ask me.”

Felix scoffed. “Like you’re one to talk.”

“What?!”

“I’m talking about your fear of ghosts,” he explained. “Remember that time you ran though the monastery screaming at 10 pm?”

“Ah, yes. I was there,” remarked the professor.”

“And why did you do that? Because a  _spooooky ghooost_ lifted up your hair.” 

“I’M FAIRLY SURE THAT WAS A REAL GHOST!” she screamed. “IF IT WASN’T, THEN WHAT  **WAS** IT?”

Byleth glanced next to her.

Linhardt came out of the tent, yawning. “What’s that about ghosts?”

“Now look what you’ve done, Sithie! You’ve woken up Linhardt.”

“Now, now, it’s OK,” he said. “I slept wonderfully last night—Caspar makes for a very warm blanket.”

“Thanks!” Caspar replied. “You’re a pretty comfortable mattress, yourself!”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Oh my goddess, get a room, you two.”

Caspar gave him a look.

“Why we would need a room?”

“Yes, we already both have one.”

Byleth chuckled. Dorothea stifled a giggle.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At noon that day, the carriages pulled to a stop at a town for lunch.

“The Church of Seiros?!” cried a man, running up to Byleth. “Sweet merciful goddess, we’re saved!”

“Calm down,” she replied. “What’s going on?”

“The remnants of the Black Beasts are attacking! Please, you have to save us!”

Sylvain narrowed his eyes. “The Black Beasts...Miklan’s gang, right?”

“Good—a chance to finish them off,” Felix added.

“All right, now...we’ll split into two teams: one to face the bandits head-on, and one to focus on getting the citizens to safety. Edelgard, C.C, Flayn, Felix, Sylvain, Marianne, Hubert and I are on team 1; everyone else is on team 2. Let’s go everyone!”

Byleth hurried to the town square, with her students following behind her.

“This’ll be your first time in a battle, correct?” asked Edelgard. C.C. nodded.

“Well, just follow the professor’s orders, and you should be fine.”

The team arrived to find the bandits looting storefronts and harassing citizens.

“All your gold—now!”

“Please! I don’t have any!”

“What a waste of human life...” he groaned hoisting his axe above his head. Before he could swing it down, however, a man charged forward on his horse, cast a spell, and shot the bandit down with a blast of light.

“...damnit,” Felix muttered.

“D-do you know him, Felix?” Marianne asked.

“I should—he’s my father.”

He happened to catch Rodrigue’s eye, and he rode up to the group.

“Felix. It’s good to see you again. I’m happy to find you fighting for the common people.”

“I don’t want your praise, old man,” he scoffed.

“I’ve told you before not to call me that,” Rodrigue reprimanded. 

“Fine. Weak fool.”

“Can we save the arguing until after we deal with the bandits?” berated Edelgard.

“My apologies. We cannot stray from our duty.”

Felix grunted.

“All right, here’s our strategy!” Byleth shouted. “Rodrigue, you and your men focus on protecting the villagers. C.C, Edelgard, Felix, and Sylvain will advance to the south, while Marianne, Hubert, Flayn and I will attack to the west. Any questions?”

Flayn raised her hand.

“Excuse me, Professor, but the three of us are...a bit on the frail side. How will we defeat all the enemies?”

Byleth cracked her knuckles and drew the Sword of the Creator.

“That’s where  _I_ come in.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a moment to prepare for battle, the students enacted Byleth’s strategy. Sylvain charged forward on his horse and speared a nearby bandit with the Lance of Ruin. On the brink of death, he tried to attack in retaliation, only to be shot down by a Fire spell from C.C. Edelgard and Felix moved to guard Sylvain’s flank. On the north part of town, Byleth confidently strolled into the group of bandits, twirling the Sword of the Creator. All of them turned to look at her, gazing at the orange glow marking it as a Hero’s Relic.

“...well? You aren’t going to attack?” she taunted. “Ooh, are you intimidated? Big sword making you feel insecure?”

One of the bandits growled. “It’s just one women; we can take her!”

“But, the relic—“

“To hell with the relic! Men: charge!” 

The bandits charged at her, but Byleth back-flipped over the horde, landing cleanly on her feet.

_Third times a charm_,  she thought. Sothis rolled her eyes.

The professor turned around and faced the horde. “My turn,” she said with a smile. She swung the Sword of the Creator into its whip-like form, and rapidly slashed at the bandits. By the final strike, only one enemy remained. He ran in the opposite direction, only to be killed by a spell from Hubert.

“OK, y’all can advance now!” Byleth cried. The team approached to the edge of enemy range on her order.

“Uh...impressive display,” said a nervous bandit.

“Oh, do you want another demonstration?”

He swiftly retreated, along with a good chunk of the enemy forces.

“Cowards!” shouted a soldier, right before being impaled by Rodrigue.

A bandit slowly approached Sylvain. 

“Well, well, well,” he said. “That hair...that lance...you’re the boss’ brother, aren’t you?”

Sylvain scowled. “Yeah, I am. Did he ever mention me?”

“Oh, yes. We’d always be getting an earful about that spoiled little brat who ended up with the Crest he deserved...” He charged forward, only to be swiftly killed by Felix.

“Bring your friends next time,” he said, stepping on his corpse.

“Hey, thanks for the save.”

“This is the last opportunity you’ll have to say that.”

“I don’t know...didn’t you say that last time?” Sylvain chuckled. Felix rolled his eyes.

Edelgard rushed forward and knocked a bandit down with her axe, who C.C. once again killed with a Fire spell.

On the north side, Marianne and Hubert each killed a bandit, and Byleth strolled further into enemy range. One charged at her, put she blocked the blow, kicked him in the stomach, and ran him through with her sword. Another shot an arrow at her, but the professor effortlessly caught it and threw it back at her. She swiftly retreated.

“Another three uses, down the drain...” muttered Sothis.

Rodrigue killed another bandit threatening a villager, and several more ran away.

“You pathetic whelps!” the captain cried. “This is the  _Church of Seiros_!  It’s our opportunity to get revenge for Miklan!”

“Stride me,” Byleth ordered. Linhardt’s battalion cast the spell, and she dashed up to the leader and punched him in the face. She kicked his weapon aside and grabbed him in a headlock.

“Last chance to surrender. Interested?”

“I’ll just be killed anyway...” he muttered, unsheathing a hidden dagger. He tried to attack the professor, but she snapped his neck.

“Hey! Your leader’s dead; you still wanna keep fighting?!” she shouted. The remaining bandits looked at each other, and swiftly ran away.

“That was easy,” Rodrigue said, dismounting in the center of town.

“Are you a fool?!” cried Felix, running up to him. “They all got away!”

“On the contrary, I had my men surround the town. No bandits are getting in, nor out. This town was special to his majesty...I wouldn’t be able to face him if it fell.”

Felix stared at him. “Face...his majesty? Lambert’s  _dead_! ”

“You know full well what I meant—“

“What you meant? That this whole escapade was just to stoke your own ego? And that if I had died, like Glenn, you’d say the same thing: ‘He died like a  _true knight_,’”  he retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I have nothing else to say to you. Goodbye.” He stormed in the opposite direction, leaving his father alone with Byleth and Edelgard.

“...what’s that about Glenn?” the professor asked.

Rodrigue sighed. “I suppose I should tell you the story. During the Tragedy of Duscur, my eldest son, Glenn, died protecting Dimitri. I couldn’t be more proud of him. Laying down one’s life like that, for the sake of another—that’s what true chivalry is. If he turned an ran...saved his own life...I would not have been able to face him. But Felix thinks what he did was foolish, and my perspective even more so. He is just a child, after all; unaccustomed to the way of the world. He’ll understand in time.”

Byleth stared at him in disdain.

“So...you’re telling me...if Glenn had survived, you would have said, ‘you should have died?’ What kind of parent does that?!”

“Well, I didn’t mean—“

“No, that’s _exactly_ what you meant! I’d understand if you put them on equal ground, but for your son’s death to be  _desirable_?! ” She poked him in the chest and put her face close to his. “ Y_ou have _ _**no right** _ _to be a father_.”  The professor stormed off as well, leaving Rodrigue standing alone, speechless.

“Such unreasonable ideas of justice...” Edelgard said to C.C. “...Rodrigue Fraldarius, was it?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Felix! Hey, Felix!” Sylvain shouted. “The professor said we’re getting lunch, now!” He spotted him, sitting in the distance, and ran up. “Hey, Felix—“

He stopped himself short when he saw his friend’s face.

“...are you...crying?”

“No,” Felix lied. “Now, go. It doesn’t concern you.”

“No, it  _concerns_ me, ” Sylvain insisted. “You rarely show emotionalvulnerability; if you’re crying, it must be serious.”

Felix sniffed. “I’m not going to burden you with my problems.”

“On the contrary, you are  _very much_ going to burden me with your problems! If we can’t depend on our friends when we’re in need, what are they good for.”

He stared at Sylvain for a moment, before pulling him into a hug.

And so, he cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sylvix 4 life.
> 
> You may be able to tell, but...I’m not great at writing action scenes. Sorry if the battle’s a bit...bad.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow’s the month anniversary of this Fanfic! As a celebration, have a Code Ment Parody. I’ll try to get the chapter proper up tomorrow!

“Dimitri, why are we dancing?” asked a young Edelgard.

“To playfully establish our relationship!”

“No, I mean, why dancing specifically?”

Silence.

“Edelgard, we’ll be friends forever, right?”

She gave him a look.

“Forever? Forever? Forever? Forever? Forever?”

“...you done?”

“Forever?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I still don’t understand, Edelgard,” C.C. said.

“It’s quite simple, really,” she explained. ”I’m the daughter of the emperor of Adestria.”

“Then why are you at Garreg Mach?”

“Well, Fodlan consists of three nations: Adestria, Faerghus, Adrestia, Leicester, Adrestia, whatever they’re calling the setting of Fates nowadays, and Adestria. My father is the Emperor of Adestria, which meant he had many wives. Of course, that came with its own problems.”

==============

_If I have to watch one more episode of Bridezillas, I’m gonna saw my own arm off._

==============

“I and a bunch of my brothers and sisters lived together in the palace—and by the  goddess  we were motherlicking adorable. Nunnally and I shared the same mother.”

==============

“NUNNALLY! WE HAVE TO KILL THE TOOTH FAIRY!”

_Every day, I pray I was adopted._

==============

“But then, the noble houses of Adestria seized power from my father, and my Mother, Uncle, Nunnally and I were sent to live with King Lambert of Faerghus, a great man with only one flaw: his son.”

“ **I can survive solely on a diet of cheese and lighter fluid!** **”** Dimitri cried from across the monastery.

“After a tragic slip ‘n slide incident, I was sent home, only to immediately be subjected, along with my siblings, to torturous Crest experimentation.”

================

“THAT SMARTS!” shouted a young Edelgard, as Solon injected dark energy into her body.

================

“The kingdom wasn’t doing much better in my absence...”

================

Thales sat on his throne, thinking.

_What’s that...Faerghus? Something about...Faerghus?”_

“We’re assassinating the ruling elite of Faerghus!”

_Yeah, nailed it!_

================

“A few years later, I was sent to live and study here, right in the belly of the beast. But, secretly, I run an elite underground team dedicated to toppling the Church of Seiros!”

================

“If anyone wants some pizza bagels, just send me an email!” Kronya said.

================

“And...that’s pretty much it! No gaping plot holes at all.”

“But—“

“AT ALL!”

“But what about your friends? What about Dorothea, and Caspar—“

** “ NO ONE CARES ABOUT CASPAR! ” **

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You know what would suck?” Young Dimitri said. “Having white hair.”

Edelgard stared at him.

“You know what would suck even more? Having white hair and a drastically shortened lifespan!”

Edelgard stared at him.

“You know what would suck even  more?  Having white hair and a drastically shortened lifespan because of the experiments that killed all your siblings!”

“Dimitri!”

“Yeah?”

“You’re absolutely right.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You’re leaving, professor?” Edelgard asked worriedly. 

“It’s just for a faculty meeting. I’m sure you kids can go a day without supervision.”

Three hours later, the monastery was in flames.

** “ CLAUDE, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! ” **

“But you told me to do it!”

**“Liar!”**

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I need your help. Can you come here?” Edelgard asked.

“I can’t. I’m buying clothes,” Dimitri replied.

“Well, hurry up and come over here.”

“I can’t find them.”

“...what do you mean, ‘you can’t find them?’”

“I mean, I can’t find them. There’s only soup.”

“Well then,  _get out of the soup aisle_! ”

“All right! You don’t have to shout at me!”

Edelgard listened to his footsteps over the phone.

“There’s still more soup!”

“Go to the next aisle!”

“More soup!”

“Where are you?!”

“I’m at soup!”

“What do you mean you’re ‘at soup!?’”

“I mean, I’m at soup!”

“What store are you at?!”

“I’m at the soup store!”

“ **WHY ARE YOU BUYING CLOTHES AT THE SOUP STORE?!** ”

“ I WILL TAKE THAT HEAD FROM YOUR SHOULDERS,  _AND HANG IT FROM THE GATES OF ENBARR!!_ ”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You wanted to see me, Archbishop Rhea?” Edelgard asked.

“Yes, and I’ll be blunt with you: you have to stop killing people.”

“...why?”

“Because mother is sick and tired of reaping all their souls. You’re killing them faster than she can put them away. We may have lost a few.”

Nemesis gave a thumbs up from across the room.

“Wait, how did he get in here?”

“That’s not important. What IS important is that you stop killing all the wrong people.”

“So what you’re saying is...”

“Yes?”

“I need to kill all the  _right_ people!”

“No.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Room arrangements!” Byleth said, clapping her hands. “The best value is the four-bed rooms, so each pair of Travel Buddies should room with another.”

“Hubert, C.C: I suppose you’ll want to room with me,” Edelgard asked.

“Indeed,” he replied. 

“Linhardt, Caspar—you’re with us,” insisted Felix.

“Uh...OK.”

Seteth turned to his sister. “Flayn, I must insist that you and Lysithea share a room with myself and the professor.”

“Of course, brother,” she sighed.

Petra and Ferdinand proceeded to pair with Bernadetta and Marianne.

“All right, that’s all settled. Innkeeper! We’d like four rooms.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Edelgard sighed as she brushed her teeth. She wanted nothing more than a quiet sleep, but her thoughts strayed to Dorothea.

_Why is fate so determined for us to be together? Goddess, if you can hear me...why do you play this cruel joke on me?_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Byleth, did you know that Edelgard and Dorothea are crushing on each other?” Sothis said.

“Really? I hadn’t noticed—though I suppose I’m not the best with emotions.”

“And yet, neither wants to confess to the other! It’s like a bad romance novel!”

The professor raised an eyebrow. “How do you know about romance novels?”

“Because you read them when you were going through puberty.”

“Ah, yes. I forgot about those.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_Maybe it is meant to be..._ she wondered, getting out a rag and a roll of tape.  _No. No. I can’t say things like that. What would she say if she found out about the Flame Emperor? She’d call me a heartless monster and never want to see me again and our relationship will be ruined...I could use the Geass, but that would be invasive, and—_

_Wait._

_Can I use it on myself?_

_Yes...with a mirror...I’ll ask C.C. in the morning. If she doesn’t know, I’ll try anyway. I’ll erase my ridiculous romantic fantasies, and be able to—_

“Hey, Edie,” Dorothea said, walking in. Edelgard jumped.

“Dorothea! You...you startled me.”

She eyed the items on the counter and furrowed her brow. “Are...you making a gag?”

“Um...yes. For myself. I talk in my sleep, and have very odd dreams.”

“Oh? What sort?”

She sighed. “Half the time, I...well, it’s a bit personal. The other half...it’s also a bit personal.”

“It’s OK; I won’t pry,” Dorothea answered. “I’m just not sure it’s safe...what if you choke?”

“Hubert will be there, won’t he?”

“You can’t expect him to stay up all night!”

“You seem to underestimate his capabilities. I highly suspect he needs less sleep than normal people.”

“Either way, this solution is a bit...drastic. I fall asleep quite fast, so it’s unlikely I’ll hear you talk. Just...enjoy the feeling of an unfamiliar bed, you know? Make sure you get a good night’s sleep.”

Edelgard blushed. “I will...try. Thank you, Dorothea.”

“Don’t mention it!” she replied with a wink.

_Oh goddess I love her too much this is a problem_,  she thought frantically, getting in to bed.  B_ut it’ll all be over next morning..._

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At 8:30, Edelgard finally awoke. She yawned, rolled over, and looked at the note Dorothea had left her.

_Hi, Edie! C.C, Hubert and I headed down for breakfast. Come whenever you’re ready—but remember we’re heading off in an hour!_ She signed it with a heart. Edelgard took the note, threw it away, and walked into the bathroom.

“Just...just look in the mirror...activate the Geass...” she told herself, staring at her glowing eye. It was hard to look away from it...

“Forget...forget about...” she struggled to say.

_Why is this so hard to do? It’s for the best...these feelings won’t get in the way anymore. I’ll never again trip over my words talking to her. I’ll never again dream of us together. I’ll never see her beautiful eyes in the same way again..._

Edelgard breathed heavily. “I order...I order you to forget...”

_It’ll all be over now...I’ll just forget about Dorothea..._

_Wait—that would be problematic. Should I say to forget my feelings? Would that work?_

“Forget about...forget about...”

She pounded her fist on the counter.

“Forget about your doubts. Leave them behind, and make the decision you know is right.”

The Geass activated. She felt a burst of energy enter her mind, rearranging it. It was not...painful, per se, but an odd feeling nonetheless.

Edelgard staggered back, clutching her head.

_ I...what happened?  she thought. Upon looking at the mirror, it came to her.  Ah, yes. I used the Geass on myself. But...what for? _

She realized what she had just thought and laughed aloud. 

“What a fool am I, trying to remember the thing I used this power to forget! Whatever it was...I feel as if a weight was lifted from me...thank you, past Edelgard. Anyway: breakfast.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Edelgard arrived at breakfast to find everyone sitting together at three tables—with the exception of Sylvain and Felix, who sat together two tables over.

“Why are they sitting by themself?” she asked.

“Sylvain appears to have an ‘unconscious aversion,’ to your green-haired friend,” Hubert explained. C.C. shot her a knowing glance.

“I...suppose I understand. But what of Felix?”

Hubert chuckled sinisterly. “The fact that you feel the need to to ask that is so... _typical_ of you, Lady Edelgard.”

“‘Typical,’ how so?” she asked.

“Do you mean to say you do  not  realize Felix’s obvious affection for Sylvain?”

Edelgard blinked. “Well...yes. I never—wait, are you implying that I am poor at noticing others’ feelings?”

“Why, yes,” he replied, sipping his orange juice. “I know a few people who can attest to that.”

Dorothea covered her mouth.

Before she could respond, Edelgard noticed Hubert’s drink.

“Hubert, is that...orange juice?”

“Why, yes.”

“And not coffee?”

“Oh, I banned him from coffee,” Dorothea explained. “He drinks way too much and gets way too little sleep.”

“And...you just agreed to that?”

“Are you under the impression that I hold no respect for anyone other than you?” Hubert scoffed. “She makes a fair point, after all.”

“Sorry, you just...don’t seem like the type to take constructive criticism, that’s all.”

“‘Constructive criticism?’ I’m helping an addict to rehabilitate,” Dorothea joked. Edelgard chuckled.

“Well, I should get breakfast, now. I’ll join you in a moment...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Five hours later, the carriages pulled to a stop on the outskirts of Rhodos Coast. Seteth leaped down, grabbed his lance, and whistled for his wyvern.

“The enemy is close by. Be ready.”

“W-what sort of enemies will we be facing?” Bernadetta asked timidly.

“Mostly Mages, I expect. The sand is hard to traverse—only flyers and magic users will go unhindered.”

Byleth looked at the class, and declared, “In that case, Hubert, C.C, Lysithea, Linhardt, Dorothea, and Petra will come along with Edelgard, Seteth, Flayn, and I. The rest of y’all: hold down the fort.”

Ferdinand gave a dutiful salute.

“Um...want to go back into the carriage?” Marianne whispered. Bernadetta nodded.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Heretics!” cried the Western Church acolyte. “You dare raise your hand against us, Central dogs!”

“You are the heretics!” replied Seteth. “By taking over the course by force, you defile this holy ground!”

“Defile? It is you who defile it—by failing to revere Cichol as the deity he is!”

Flayn sighed. “It’d be funny, if it wasn’t so pathetic.”

“Surrender, and we will advocate for your lives!”

“Ha! We know better than to believe the lies of the Central Church! Men: attack!”

The Assassins at the front charged forward, but the sand impaired their movement, preventing them from reaching the group. Byleth motioned to Lysithea, who joined her battalion in a Group Lightning attack. The primary target was killed, and the other two were weakened and immobilized. C.C. and Flayn finished them off.

“Goddess have mercy on their souls...Seteth prayed, flying with Petra to the isles in the west.

“Linhardt; warp me!” the professor ordered. He cast the spell, teleporting her into directly into enemy lines. 

“Hello there,” she said with a smirk, drawing the Sword of the Creator. Every soldier immediately tried to attack her.

She stuck her weapon into the ground and used it as a pivot to kick the first Assassin backwards, and followed it up with a pair of punches. Several Mages shot fireballs at her, but she dodged and attacked at range with the Sword of the Creator. Finally, Byleth drew her Killing Edge, slicing the approachingAssassin in half.

“...hm. The professor is quite intimidating,” C.C. noted as Edelgard trudged past her.

“Yes, I’m glad she’s on our side—look how do you move through sand so easily?”

She pointed to her feet, revealing she was floating a few inches above the ground.

“...ah.”

Seteth struck down a Bishop, and another started to attack, only to be killed by Petra. Byleth dashed up to the northeast commander and ran him through with her Killing Edge.

“Who’s next?!” she asked cheerfully. The troops stationed to the south looked at each other and promptly made a beeline away from the coast.

“Do not allow them to escape!” Seteth shouted. “Rhea’s instructions were to not let them go!”

“So she wants us to kill all of them?!” Byleth yelled back.

“...it sounds a lot worse when you phrase it like that!”

“You heard his orders,” said Edelgard, brandishing her axe. “Cut them off!”

An Assassin moved to attack Caspar, but he dodged the first hit and punched him in the stomach. The second strike slashed a large wound on his exposed chest, which Linhardt promptly healed.

“This is what you get for disturbing mother’s rest!” Flayn cried as she finished him off.

“...your mother’s buried here?” Linhardt asked.

“Yes. We lived here many years ago.”

“On Rhodos Coast? A land sacred to—“

Before he could finish, Flayn grabbed onto his shoulders and covered his mouth, as Caspar looked on in confusion.

“Flayn! I need a Rescue!” Byleth shouted, punching and kicking the various Western Church soldiers. She got off Linhardt and cast the spell, teleporting the professor to the southern edge of the coast. She drew her sword and pointed it towards the oncoming enemies. One shot a blast of light at her, but Flayn jumped in front of it.

“Flayn! Are you OK?!”

“I’m fine—I’ve always had a resistance to magic. Go!”

The professor rushed forward and slashed the Bishop into the ground. She parried a blow from an Assassin, who promptly fell to Lysithea, Hubert, and C.C’s magic. The commander of the southern troops began to cast a spell, but Byleth ran her through with the Killing Edge before she could complete it. Seteth defeated the Bishop manning the western isles, and the remaining troops surrendered. The battle was over.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Well, hopefully the Western Church has learned their lesson and abandoned this place,” Seteth said. “However, to be safe, I have retrieved the holy artifacts. Cichol’s weapon, the Spear of Assal, and Cethleann’s staff, the Caduceus. In entrust them to you.”

“No, no. You can keep them,” Byleth insisted. “You have the right Crests, after all.”

“Very well,” he replied, smiling. “I must confess, this coast has a certain...sentimental significance to Flayn and me. You see, my late wife, Ethniu, is buried here.”

“And your mother, too, right? I heardFlayn shout about it mid-battle.”

She frowned nervously.

“...well, I suppose you deserve to know. You see, in actuality, Flayn is my daughter. She has been masquerading as my sister to protect her from those who desire her special blood.”

Byleth narrowed her eyes. “...you know, I never suspected it, but in hindsight, it makes a lot of sense.”

“Yes; such is with many revelations in life,” Flayn chuckled.

“Well, now that we’ve taken care of the church, we must start making our way home. Let us return to the carriages.”

From a distance, Linhardt hid in a bush and took notes.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m alive, everyone! A week-long bout of writer’s block slowed down the chapter a bit, but I persevered! And as a special message to all the folks on my Discord: I’ll be back soon! :)

The class arrived back at the monastery late that Friday night.

“Aaaaah! Smell that monastery air!” Caspar cried, jumping out of the carriage and stretching.

“Please keep it down,” whispered Seteth. “Students are sleeping right now, as you know full well.”

“Sorry, it’s just good to be back.”

“I share that sentiment!” Flayn giggled. She turned to talk to Marianne, only to find she was fast asleep on Bernadetta, who wore a look of utter terror on her face.

“Bernadetta? Are you OK?”

“ _I can’t move_, ” she whispered. “ _If I do, I’ll wake up Marianne and she’ll hate me forever._”

Flayn frowned. “I...think it’s more likely that she’ll blame herself for falling asleep on you—“

“ _THAT’S EVEN WORSE!_”

“Hmm...how about I wake her up?” she suggested.

“A-all right. But please, be careful...”

Flayn gently tapped Marianne on the shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes, glanced around, and gasped.

“D-did I fall asleep on you? I’m so sorry...”

“Don’t apologize! I was the one who asked Flayn to wake you up, I should be apologizing!”

“No, I’m sorry—“

“ _I’m_ sorry!”

“No, I’m—this is going nowhere.”

“C-can we just agree that it’s no one’s fault and head back to our rooms?”

“Good idea...”

As the two departed for their rooms, Dorothea turned curiously to Edelgard.

“Hey, Edie. You’re smiling,” she noted.

“Am I?” she replied, a bit embarrassed. “Well...I suppose I just enjoy your company.”

“I feel the same!” giggled Dorothea. “I’m lucky to have you as a friend.”

“Just a friend?”

Edelgard’s internal monologue was screaming at her to stop as Dorothea’s eyes widened in shock, but she blocked it out.

“Are...you saying you’d like to be my girlfriend?”

“If you’d like to be mine. We don’t have to take it too fast if you don’t want to...”

“Well, I’d love to go on a date. How about next Wednesday? After school? We can go to that cafe in town?”

“That would be wonderful,” Edelgard answered, smiling warmly.

“Great! I’m looking forward to it!” She left the carriage, leaving Edelgard alone, ecstatic thoughts bouncing around her head.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Edelgard kicked in the door of her room.

“Ryuk! I finally asked her!”

“I missed you too, darling,” he snarked.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dorothea kicked in the door of Ingrid’s room.

“Ingrid! She finally asked me!”

“What the hell, Dorothea, it’s 9 pm Go to sleep,” Ingrid groaned.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Byleth yawned and tucked herself under the covers, rolling to the left to make room for Sothis.

“You like Seteth, don’t you?” she teased, munching on a cookie.

“Ok, first, no cookies in bed. I don’t need your crumbs everywhere. Second, that’s true, but I can’t very well make a move. He’s a widower, for the goddess’ sake.”

Sothis rolled her eyes.

“Third, there’s no guarantee it would work out. I have five exes—“

“Six. You’re forgetting Annabeth.”

“I always forget Annabeth,” she sighed. “Point is, if the relationship doesn’t end well, things would be awkward for everyone. We still have to work together, and I have to teach Flayn...it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances to even consider starting a relationship.”

“Well, I think you’d be cute together.”

“You say that about everyone I’m attracted to...” Byleth mumbled.

“Makes sense. You’re a cute person,” Sothis joked, getting into bed with her. The professor covered her face with her blanket.

“Are you blushing under there?”

“No. I’m sick of staring at your smug grin.”

“Of course,” Sothis said sarcastically. She turned to add on to that, but Byleth was already fast asleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Edelgard awoke at ten in the morning, a smile plastered on her face.

“So, what’s got you so happy?” C.C. asked, munching on a slice of pizza.

“Oh,  _I’ll_ tell you,” Ryuk chuckled. “Edie’s got a  _date_! ”

“Really?” she asked, confused. “With Dorothea?”

“Yes—I finally worked up the courage to ask her.”

C.C. stared at her in silence.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to have a relationship with her.”

“What? No,” she replied incredulously. “Why would I say that?”

She was about to answer, but she stopped herself, realized what had happened, and shook her head.

“I’m probably misremembering. So when is it?”

“Wednesday, after school. It’ll be a coffee date—nothing too fancy just yet. I’m also not sure if I’m going to wear anything special.”

Ryuk chuckled. “Look at you—the  _Flame Emperor_,  the wielder of the Death Note and the Geass, the one who’s going to destroy the Church of Seiros — and here you are, worrying about your date.”

“Don’t deny me romance just because I have lofty aspirations,” Edelgard scolded. “I’m not going to put her  _above_ my plans, of course, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t in a special place within my heart.”

C.C. simply smiled and nodded.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Manuela walked into the Teachers’ Lounge and collapsed onto the couch.

“ Thank the _goddess_ we have the day off,” she groaned. “Oh, and thank you too—it’s mostly because of your field trip, after all.”

“Golden Deer getting into trouble without me?” Byleth inquired, sipping her tea.

“You don’t know the half of it. This week, we’ve had three spontaneous dance parties, a ‘rebellion against the tyranny of formal schooling,’ and a cross-house prank war.”

“Ouch,” the professor remarked with a wince. “And that’s above average?”

“Only slightly.”

“No wonder Lysithea and Marianne were so eager to transfer out.”

“Speaking of Lysithea, she was more or less my only student who actually cared about the material outside of combat.”

“Really? Not even Lorenz, or Ignatz?”

“Oh, they  try— unlike some students—but it’s definitely not their top priority. But you no what really gets me?!” she added. “Hilda never works in class, turns in all her homework late, claims to never study,  and _still has the highest grade average._ ”

“Really?!”

“Yep...94%. She’s aced every test I’ve thrown at her. Maybe I need to be stricter about classwork and homework...” Manuela sighed.

“Hey, it’s our day off. The students are completely disregarding school to relax; no reason we shouldn’t.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“I go to ask, Hilda: what’s your secret?” Claude said, grinning.

“I have a lot of secrets,” she teased. “What did you have in mind?”

“The fact that you ace every test despite never studying.”

“Why would I need to study?” Hilda scoffed. “It’s not as if the questions are  _hard_. ”

“Even last test’s bonus question?” Claude said with a smirk.

“What, on flanking? That’s  _basic_ stuff. Honestly, I’m surprised no one else got it.”

“...wow. I’ve been underestimating you.”

“So, why do you ask? I know you don’t care about grades, because you purposefully got a 69 that one.”

“You can’t prove I did that!” he claimed, grinning widely.

“Mm-hm...right...so what are you after?”

“Oh, just looking for a segue into a highly confidential matter...take a look at this.”

Hilda peered over and looked at the scroll he held up.

“Ooh, is that a dragon?”

“Not just any dragon—The Immaculate One.”

“Oh, yeah! Sent by Seiros to save the people, right?”

“But the thing is, if you look closely, here at its head...”

“Is that...the Crest of Seiros?!”

“I’m pretty sure, yes.”

“So, you think that the Crests and Crest Stones are linked to the Demonic Beasts?”

“I do. But the question is: how?”

As they stood pondering the answer, Seteth approached them.

“Greetings, Claude. Greetings, Hilda. ...where did you get that?” he worriedly inquired, pointing at the scroll.

“What, this? I found it. Here. In the library. You know, where books are  _supposed_ to be?”

Seteth frowned and furrowed his brow.

“This is...not part of the library’s usual catalog. It likely belongs to Tomas; I must request you relinquish it to me.”

He reached out to take it, but Claude held it away from him.

“Hmm, your expression tells me there’s more to it than that. This is something the church doesn’t want us to know, right?”

“Yes, you are correct. Now, please give it back,” he sighed.

Claude stared at him in surprise, put the scroll on a table, and said, “Wow. Didn’t expect you to be so forward. But, hey, if that’s how you feel...” He started to stroll out of the room, but Seteth stopped him.

“Hold on, now. I understand you were neither born nor raised in Fodlan, and as such, we do not expect or require you to believe in the Church’s creed. At the same time, however, I must ask that you respect its authority.”

“All right, all right...” Claude said flippantly. “Sorry, I was a bit distracted thinking of what kind of dirty secrets you guys are hiding.”

Seteth groaned and put his hand on his face.

“...let’s just say it could threaten the stability of Fodlan itself. Anyway, I am less worried about your meddling than the fact that Tomas is in the possession of a forbidden text such as this.” He turned to the table to find it missing. “...it’s gone.”

Claude looked under the table, one again finding nothing.

“It didn’t drop down...”

“Well...I have some other business to attend to. But if you find it, you will bring it to me, correct?”

“You got it, boss!”

“Thank you...” Seteth sighed and left the library.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Claude said suavely, holding up the scroll. “We got ‘em.”

“So, are you gonna tell me about not being from Fodlan?” Hilda asked.

“Come now, Hilda. You know how much I love my secrets.”

She grinned sinisterly. “Oh, really? How about I just tell everyone who you like?”

“Yeah, that’s not gonna work,” Claude retorted. “First, the fact that you aren’t naming names tells me you’re probably bluffing. Second, even if you  _aren’t_,  you’re probably just guessing from contextual clues, while I know for a  _fact_ that you have a crush on Marianne—“

“OK, OK, I’ll drop it,” she interrupted. 

“Still...we’ve been friends since I came to the Alliance. I guess you deserve to know,” he admitted. “I’m from Almyra.”

Hilda stared at him in disbelief.

“You? ...from Almyra?”

“Yup.”

“But...aren’t Almyrans, like....savages?”

”Hilda, I want you to think very hard about what you just said.”

She stared at him for a moment before making a shocked expression.

“Oh, goddess...that was racist, wasn’t it?”

”Well, I’ll give you props for recognizing it, after a bit of prompting. I won’t be so forgiving next time, however...” he warned, still smiling.

Hilda made a mental note never to annoy Claude.

”Anyway, I think you can see why I prefer to keep that a secret. Imagine your reaction, but amplified, and from every member of the Alliance nobility.”

“I guess—wait, how were you able to cover this up for so long? Just look at you; you’re clearly not from Fodlan!”

“What can I say? My ‘killer tan’ story wouldn’t have held up if not for my charming personality.”

“Well, you fooled me!” Hilda giggled. “So...an Almyran’s gonna be head of the Alliance someday, huh?”

“Right. I’m in a...uniquely suited position to tear down the walls—literal and metaphorical—separating the two countries.”

“...do my ears deceive me, or are you planning on tearing down Fodlan’s Locket?”

“Ding ding ding! 200 points to GoldenPuff!”

“Wow, you’re gonna put my brother out of a job!”

“Hey, he’ll manage. Maybe he should be a fashion model. The muscular physique and pink hair should suit him well...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lysithea banged her gavel and peered over the edge of the table. Edelgard, Hubert, Linhardt, Bernadetta, Claude, Hilda, and Ashe sat at it, awaiting instructions.

“As you know, I have gathered you here because your skills, experiences, and talents have made you a perfect choice for this organization: the Flame Emperor Investigation Team, Maximum Efficiency, also known as...” She made a double take. “...OK, who added those last two words?”

Claude and Hilda grinned.

“Who has four thumbs and a ton of chaotic dumb-butt energy?”

“These guys!”

“You don’t have to censor yourself, you know,” Lysithea said in exasperation.

“Why not? There are _children_ here, you know!”

Upon realizing he was talking about her, she threw the gavel at him. Had Claude not ducked, he would have been in the Infirmary until the Battle of the Eagle and Lion.

“Hey, that’s no way to act in an official FIET ME meeting!” he objected.

“Shut up. Now, let’s discuss the evidence we’ve gathered so far.” She opened the case file on the table and took out Bernadetta’s drawing. “Exhibit A! An artist’s interpretation of the Emperor. Notice anything?”

The team closely observed it.

“Actually, those marks on the face do seem familiar...” Linhardt noted. “I’m fact, if you combine them with the insignia on the armor, it sort of looks like a Crest.”

“And not just any Crest,” Edelgard added, examining it. “The Crest of Flames...the professor’s Crest.”

“So, you think this ‘Flame Emperor’ bears the Crest he’s naming himself after?” Claude asked.

“It’s a possibility. But it’s just as likely that they’re just using it as a symbol,” Lysithea explained. “On to Exhibit B: the transcript of their little soliloquy after telling off the Death Knight.”

Everyone peered over it.

“Hmm...not much of substance here...” Hubert mused. “We know he plans to ‘change this world,’ but that hardly narrows down his motives.”

“If I may?” Ashe added, raising his hand. “Nemesis bore the Crest of Flames, and was known as the King of Liberation for vanquishing the Nabateans, right?”

Bernadetta enthusiastically nodded.

“Well, if this fellow is basing his image off the Crest of Flames, maybe he’s planning to emulate the deeds of the first one to have it.”

“Hey, that makes a lot of sense, Ashe!” Hilda said, as Lysithea took notes on a sheet of paper.

“All right, let’s move on to Exhibit C: the Death Knight.” She opened the file to a picture of Jeritza next to one of the Death Knight.

“The guy answers to the Flame Emperor, and unlike pretty much everyone else, they seem to garner respect from him. We’re almost 100% positive he’s Jeritza, so we need to work from there.”

“He was from House Hrym in Adestria, right?” Claude noted.

“Yes...the leaders of that family disappeared mysteriously some three years ago, leaving him as the only member...” Hubert added.

“U-um...” stammered Bernadetta. “Maybe one of them is the Flame Emperor! They disappeared in order to set the stage of their plan, and now they’re putting in into action!”

“Excellent theory, Bernadetta!” Lysithea said, writing it down. “Even if they aren’t the Emperor himself, it seems likely they’re involved.”

Edelgard covered her mouth.

“All right. Any other theories?”

No one spoke.

“Good. Now, is there anyone within the monastery you believe to be worthy of investigation?”

Hilda eagerly raised her hand. “Ooh, ooh, I have one! That ‘Monica’ girl. She seems suspicious...”

“I concur,” Edelgard agreed. “She has an...unsettling aura about her. Whenever we’re alone together, I have a feeling that something terrible is about to happen.”

“Yeah, she disappears and comes back a year later, with a completely different personality?” Claude skeptically pointed out. “Sounds like the perfect opportunity for a good old’ kill-and-replace.”

“I’ll happily volunteer to keep an eye on her,” Edelgard said.

“Excellent. Now, any questions?”

No one spoke, and Lysithea banged down her gavel. “In that case: meeting adjourned.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited Hilda and Claude’s conversation to fix racism


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I go from updating 7-8 times from August to September, to updating twice from September to October...oof. Of course, I could probably write more if I had greater access to my phone, MOM.

The next day began at 7 with a feast commemorating the end of the War of the Eagle and Lion. The whole school attended—even Edelgard, who typically wasn’t even awake so early in the morning. The dining hall was filled with the clamor of talkative students and loud eaters. Such as Caspar, for instance.

Linhardt sighed as he shoveled food into his mouth.

“Please eat more slowly. You’re going to choke,” he warned exasperatedly.

“Come on! I gotta build up energy for the mock battle!” he replied, mouth full. Linhardt sighed and facepalmed.

“So, Edelgard, be straight with me: how do you feel about the whole, ‘Faerghus declaring independence’ thing?” Sylvain asked out of the blue. She was, understandably, taken aback.

“That’s a rather...political question.”

“Well, it’s about what we’re celebrating, right? You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel like it—“

“No, no. It’s fine. I personally believe it is best for Fodlan to be unified, but whether it be under the Empire or another nation is irrelevant.”

“You know, there are many people in Adrestia, commoners and nobles alike, who wish for it to span all of Fodlan once more,” Ferdinand added.

“But do they really want it? Or is it just an excuse for imperialism?” Sylvain noted.

“Why not just say it outright?” cut inDorothea. “‘It’s been a while since we had a good war, so we’re attacking you?’”

“The logistics behind war aren’t so simplistic—“ Edelgard tried to object.

“Well, I think they are. War is just a contest to see how many people they have to kill before the other side gives up—and anyone who disagrees is free to declare war on me.” She sternly sipped her orange juice out of a wine glass. Edelgard sweat nervously.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Byleth approached the table and handed Felix a letter.

“This came for you,” she said, before returning to the faculty table. He looked at it curiously and opened it. His expression soon contorted into a hideous mix of shock and terror.

“Uh, Felix? Are you OK?” Sylvain asked. He tore the letter in half, threw it on the floor, and ran out of the Dining Hall.

“...what was that all about?” Lysithea questioned. Sylvain picked up the two pieces of paper and turned pale.

“Hey, Felix! Wait!” he cried, running after him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Felix dashed frantically into his room, tears running down his face. He slammed his hand into the wall, yelling “Can’t! Show! Weakness!” before collapsing onto to the floor.

“It’s OK...it’s OK...” he desperately told himself. “You hated him, right? Him and his ‘honor...’ you should be happy, right?”

He ran through the memories of his father: his petty self-righteousness when he defended that town, his smug reaction to Glenn’s mangled armor, his steady hand guiding his sword on his first day of training, all the time the three of them spent together—

He grabbed his pillow and screamed primally into it. He stood up and started savagely kicking his bed when he heard a knock at his door.

“Leave,” he growled.

“...you sure?” Sylvain replied.

Felix got up and violently pushed the door open, narrowly missing Sylvain.

“I said.  **Leave**. ”

“I...I saw your letter—“ He was interrupted by a punch to the face, but he shrugged it off.

“I know you weren’t fond of your father, but it’s obvious you’re upset—“

Felix kicked him in the stomach, knocking him onto the ground.

“Don’t you get it? Leave. Me. Alone,” he shouted, his face and eyes red from crying.

“No,” Sylvain replied resolutely. “Not until I can see you smile again.”

Felix tried to glare at his friend, but when he saw his face, all he could think about was their countless days spent together.

“...why do you care?” he finally barked.

“Do you really need a reason? Do you really need someone—someone you’ve known your whole life—to justify the fact that they care about you? About how you feel, and the struggles you go through every day?”

Felix sniffed and wiped his nose.

“...come in,” he finally said, gently gesturing to the door. Sylvain sat down on the bed, and Felix lay down on his lap.

“...now what?” he asked.

“Do whatever you need to,” answered Sylvain. “Cry, talk to me, or just lie down and think. Whatever it is....I’m here for you.”

Felix looked up at him and stared into his caring, comforting eyes. He hugged him and wept.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After what felt like hours, Felix finally stood up, wiping his eyes.

“...thank you,” he finally managed to say.

“I’m always here if you need me,” Sylvain replied.

“Well...bye.”

“Bye.”

Neither left the room.

“...he wasn’t a bad person,” Felix declared resolutely. “Or even a bad father, really. It’s just that...his ideals kept him from giving me proper comfort when I needed it most.”

“In the end, I think he really cared for you—which is more than I can say for  my  parents.”

Felix nodded, and opened the door. Neither left.

“I...sometimes I regret that I wasn’t there to support you, after the Tragedy. I should have been there, giving you what your father couldn’t—instead, I was off  _vacationing_ in Sreng.”

“Don’t. Don’t wish you were there. You were the only one of us untouched by it. The rest of us, we changed—and not for the better. If you hadn’t—“

“What, I shouldn’t have been supporting you like a friend should, just because I might have gotten traumatized?” Sylvain stood up and put his hand on Felix’s shoulder. “I’m not gonna let you say that.”

“No, I’m saying, you wouldn’t be  able  to support us—“

“As if I’ll let a little trauma stand between me and my friends? No way,” he said with a wink. Felix smiled widely.

“Thanks. I needed that.”

“See? Told you I wouldn’t leave until you smiled!”

“Don’t push it,” he said, still grinning.

“Are you still up for the Battle of the Eagle and Lion?”

“Honestly? I’m not sure...”

“Don’t sweat it! We’ll ask the professor if we can stay behind; she’ll understand.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“All right, I understand,” Byleth told them when they came to Seteth’s office.

“I was also thinking that I could stay behind—you know, give some emotional support,” Sylvain added. “Is that OK?”

Byleth shrugged. “I’ve never lost a family member before, so I’m not really qualified to make these sort of judgements.”

“Well, I have,” Seteth said. “In my experience, emotional support is  _the most_ important thing for someone experiencing loss. I wholeheartedly agree that Sylvain should stay behind.”

“All right, sounds good. I hope you feel better soon, Felix.”

Felix smiled softly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

About eight hours later, the school arrived at Gronder Field, and the students gathered with their Houses to make battle plans.

Dimitri placed down small figurines representing the Blue Lions, Black Eagles, and Golden Deer.

“The strongest contender for victory is definitely the Eagles,” he noted. “Even with being limited to six students in the battle, Professor Byleth’s training is undoubtedly best in the monastery. So, we’ll just have to think tactically.”

He gestured to the fort in the middle of the field.

“Their biggest strategic advantage is their close proximity to the ballista. Therefore, we just have to take control of it first.”

He picked up the figure of Annette. “You’ll cast Stride, which, along with a Warp from Mercedes, will allow Ashe to immediately man the ballista. Ingrid and I will follow behind to support him, while Dedue will move to defend our position from the Deer,” he explained, moving him towards the forested part of the field. “From there, half of us will take down the Eagles, and the other half will hold down the fort—the metaphorical one, that is—until we can strike at the Deer from the north.”

“Excellent strategy, Dimitri,” Dedue commended.

“Thank you. Is everyone else good?”

The Lions nodded in unison.

“Excellent...now, let’s get out there and win!”

Meanwhile, Claude was in the forest, addressing his house.

“Just wanna say: ‘Battle of the Eagle and Lion?’” he huffed. “Us Deer get no respect.”

“Oh? Are you forgetting about how Holst singlehandedly won the mock battle six years ago?” Lorenz pointed out. “With his sister on our side—“

“Don’t say things like that. You’re making Hilda feel insecure,” Claude snarked. “Anyway, since Manuela nixed my poison plan, I have a different tactic in mind...” He briefly described it to the Deer.

“...that is the most stupid and dangerous idea I have ever heard come out of your mouth, Claude,” Lorenz said.

“So, we’re doing it, right?” asked Hilda.

“I don’t know...” Raphael said nervously. “It seems a little...dangerous.”

“It seems a lot dangerous,” Ignatz added.

“Look, we’re not going to  target  anyone, and on the off chance someone  does  get hit, there’s a river right by the fort, and they have healers. They’ll be fine,” Claude insisted.

“Fine. I’ll help,” he sighed.

Finally, Edelgard stood at a map of Gronder with the other Eagles.

“Now, our biggest advantage is our close proximity to the fort. Therefore, we’ll need to bring Bernadetta to man the ballista.”

She gave a weak thumbs-up.

“I’m also taking Linhardt for healing, as well as Hubert and Lysithea for magical attack. And to even out the magical/physical split, I’ll bring...”

“Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” Caspar shouted.

“...Petra.”

The princess of Brigid bowed. “I will be doing my best.”

Edelgard turned to Byleth, who was having a drink in a beach chair.

“Professor?” she asked. “What strategy would you recommend we employ?”

“If you’ll recall correctly, the Battle of the Eagle and Lion is designed to gauge the abilities of the students independent of their teachers,” Byleth explained, lifting up her sunglasses. “If I helped you strategize, that would defeat the entire purpose of the mock battle.”

“Right. I apologize.” She gestured to the map. “As I said, we have two assets: the Ballista, and our superior training. However, we cannot simply throw caution to the wind. The other houses will combat our brute strength with tactics, but if we match their tactics, it will be power that decides the victor.”

“If I may, Lady Edelgard,” Hubert said. “We are, of course, the primary target, so I believe it best we move forward in a defensive formation.” He arranged the figurines to demonstrate. “Petra and you will take the front, acting as a shield of sorts. Behind you are Lysithea and me, raining Magic down on our enemies. In the back are Linhardt (who will heal us or cast Stride, need be it) and Bernadetta (who will man the Ballista).”

“Sounds good,” Linhardt said.

At the top of a cliff overlooking Gronder, Seteth cleared his throat and shouted, “Enter positions! The Battle is about to begin!”

Each class got in their proper formation, and a Church soldier played a few notes on a trumpet. The Battle of The Eagle and Lion had begun.

“Now!” Dimitri shouted. Annette and Mercedes cast their respective spells, and, Ashe ran up to the Ballista and activated it, striking Petra’s Pegasus in the wing.

“What?! How did he reach the fort so fast?!” Bernadetta screamed.

“A combination of a Stride Gambit and a Warp spell—a simple strategy, but quite effective,” Hubert answered, readying his magic. “Of course, the disadvantage is that they leave themselves isolated, open to attack...”

“But Ingrid and Dimitri are closing in on him!” Lysithea pointed out. “We’ll need to reach Ashe before they do—“

“Linhardt! Stride!”

He sighed and cast the spell. Edelgard sprinted up to the fort and swiped at Ashe with her axe, but he dodged and struck her arm with an arrow. Hubert, however, was able to land a Miasma spell, knocking him off the Ballista. Edelgard gestured to Bernadetta, Lysithea, and Petra, who joined her in the fort.

“Are you harmed at all, Petra?” she asked as Ashe raised his hands to surrender.

“Aside from my Pegasus, I am fine.”

“All right, good...join me at the south end of the fort; we’ll defend against the Lions.”

Ingrid landed by Dimitri and dismounted her Pegasus.

“Ashe’s down; the Eagles have seized the fort,” she reported. “They’re guarding the south entrance. What’s our plan?”

Dimitri took a deep breath. “Regroup with Mercedes and Annette, and bring them back here. I’m at an advantage defending, so I can probably defeat Edelgard and Petra if they charge me. Once the three of you are back, we’ll split up and attack the fort from both sides. No matter what they do, they’ll either be outnumbered or forced to let us enter the fort.”

“What about Dedue? Are you sure he can hold his own?”

“The Deer don’t have any magical attackers, so he should be fine, as long as Hilda stays away from him.”

Ingrid nodded and flew back towards the Lions’ base, and Dimitri grabbed his shield off his back and slowly approached the fort.

“Should we attack?” Petra asked, drawing her bow.

“Yes, but only at range,” answered Edelgard. “It looks like Ingrid is getting reinforcements, so we’ll be at a severe disadvantage if we leave the fort. But if we can whittle him down from  _inside_ of it, however...”

Dimitri held up his shield to block an arrow and a ballista bolt, praying that Ingrid would return soon.

Claude looked over the battlefield and smirked, as the stage started to be set for his scheme.

“All right, time to put this plan into action,” he said confidently. “Lorenz, grab the cart and come with me.”

“Of  _course_ I am relegated to a mere pack mule...” he grumbled, attaching it to his horse’s harness.

“Everyone else, move over to the upper part of the forest.”

“Got it!” cried Raphael.

Claude smiled and started to stroll towards the fort.

Ingrid, Mercedes, and Annette arrived at Dimitri’s location.

“So, how are we splitting up?” Mercedes asked.

“Since you’re the weaker of our mages—comparatively, I mean, you’re still quite talented—“

“So, she’ll go with you, and I’ll go with Ingrid!” Annette cut off. “Come on, we’ll attack from the side!”

The two dashed off around to the west entrance of the fort.

“Th-they’re flanking us!” Bernadetta screamed.

“Petra, take the west! Bernadetta, prioritize the mages, they have weaker defense! I’ll handle Dimitri!”

The Prince of Faerghus swung his lance at Edelgard, who parried it. Mercedes moved to cast a spell at her, but Bernadetta knocked her down with the Ballista. Annette tried to hit Petra with a Fire spell, but she dodged and struck her in the arm with an arrow.

“Forgetting about me?!” Ingrid shouted, thrusting her lance in an attack she was only barely able to parry.

“Forgetting about  _us_? ” came a high-pitched voice from her left. She turned to see Hubert and Lysithea, who pelted her with dark magic until she was unconscious on the ground.

“Damnit, we’ve lost two already!” Dimitri yelled as he forced himself into the fort. 

“That’s what you deserve for losing track of your most dangerous enemies!” Edelgard teased as her few wounds were Physiced by Linhardt. He scowled and spin his lance over his head, but their battle was interrupted by several jars landing by them, spilling a thick black liquid onto the floor. Everyone stopped to stare at it.

Bernadetta sniffed the air. “Is this...oil?”

Claude winked and lit an arrow. “Yeah, you should probably run now.” He nocked and drew his bow. “One!”

“He wouldn’t,” Dimitri said.

“Two!”

“He would,” replied Edelgard.

“Three!”

“RUN!”

The students near the fort scattered as Claude’s fiery arrow sailed through the sky—Bernadetta, Edelgard, Dimitri, and Mercedes to the north, and Hubert, Lysithea, Petra, and Annette to the west. It landed in the fort, exploding it into flame.

“Is...that allowed?” Seteth asked Rhea nervously.

“Why not? It is an ingenious tactic; the church could make good use of it.”

He looked at her with a mix of shock and discomfort.

“...you know, she’s standing awfully close to the edge of this cliff...” Sothis noted.

“Don’t tempt me,” whispered Byleth.

Edelgard’s group reached the north end of the forest and stopped to catch their breath.

“I think...we’re safe now...” she gasped.

“Not quite,” Leonie said. Before they could respond, Ignatz motioned to his Battalion to cast Group Lightning. The electricity surged through their bodies, freezing them in place for the rest of the Deer in hiding to pick off.

Lysithea’s group, meanwhile, ran back to the Blue Lions base, where Dedue was standing guard.

“Annette, I’m glad to see you unharmed,” he said. “Is Dimitri safe?”

She started to answer, but the burst of lighting from the northern corner interrupted her.

“Ah, I see...” Lysithea mused. “The fire was only a ruse—he drove us from the fort and led most of us into an ambush.”

“Now we are being the only Black Eagles remaining!”

“Well, there’s still Linhardt, but I doubt he’ll be much help...”

On the other side of the river, Linhardt and Petra’s Pegasus slept peacefully together.

“Anyway, back to business,” Hubert said coldly. He readied a Miasma spell, but Lysithea stopped him.

“Wait! We need to think of this logically,” she insisted, turning to Dedue and Annette. “It’s down to us and the Deer. We’ll never be able to beat them individually, but together, I believe we can do it. What do you say?”

Dedue frowned. “But after we win (presuming we even can), we’ll be forced to fight each other—and you’ll win.”

“Yeah!” Annette chimed in. “Why should we help you get the victory?!”

Lysithea contemplated this. “Hmm...true. But think of it this way: would you rather  we  win, or the Deer win?”

The remaining Lions looked at each other.

“...we prefer the Deer.”

Hubert scoffed. “Your loss, then.” He fired off two Miasmas, blasting Dedue to the ground. Lysithea cast Luna on Annette, who was subsequently knocked out by the butt of Petra’s sword.

“So...what now?” Hubert asked, dusting off his hands.

“Quickly, now,” Petra warned. “Claude and Lorenz approach.”

Lysithea took a deep breath and began to rack her mind. “OK, OK...Lorenz should go down with a single Dark Spikes, so he’s not an issue...Claude, however, could be a problem.”

“Shouldn’t he be defeated by a few spells?” Petra asked.

“Theoretically, yes, but he’s incredibly fast. I’d be surprised if he  _didn’t_ dodge at least one—“

“Incoming Lorenz!” Hubert shouted,knocking him unconscious with a single Dark Spikes.

“Claude’s coming next!” Petra said, as the three of them readied their attacks.

The leader of the Golden Deer strolled merrily toward the three remaining Eagles, whistling a happy tune as he dodged their spells and arrows.

“Hey, guys!” he said, pointing toward the sky. “...you may want to look up.”

“As if we’re going to fall for that!” Lysithea retorted, before being knocked off her feet by a cascade of Wyverns.

“Wait...are battalions even allowed?” she managed to groan.

“Hey, nothing in the rules against them!” he cheerfully replied, winking. “Now, we just wait for Linhardt to surrender, which should be any second now...”

About thirty seconds later, a trumpet blew to signal the end of the mock battle.

“Enough! The winner of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion is...” Seteth paused for dramatic effect. “The Golden Deer house!”

“Woohoo! We did it!” Hilda cried. “Everyone start the victory chant!”

They started to chant “Fear the Deer!” in celebration, as Church healers moved to give medical attention to the other houses.

“Hey! What did I tell you?” Claude said, meeting with the rest of the Deer. “Flawless victory!”

“I mean, Lorenz did get hit pretty bad...” Ignatz pointed out.

“Flawless victory!” Hilda repeated.

“But Lorenz got defeated!” Raphael said, scratching his head. “Isn’t that a flaw...?”

“The joke is, we’re always making fun of Lorenz, so him getting smacked doesn’t count as a flaw,” Claude explained.

“Oh, I get it...flawless victory!”

“I am fully conscious and can hear all of you,” Lorenz grumbled as he was carried out on a stretcher.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> in my defense there were extenuating circumstances

The next two days went by like a blur to Edelgard. Perhaps her perception was clouded from the excitement of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, or she eagerly awaited her date with Dorothea It could have been, of course, that she spent them in a coma. 

She awoke mid-morning on Wednesday, to find Hubert and Dorothea watching over her. 

“Oh, thank the goddess,” she said. “Manuela tells me students often end up in the infirmary after mock battles, but this seems a bit...extreme.” 

“The last thing I remember was Hilda hitting me over the head with the side of an axe,” Edelgard recalled hazily. “...I certainly hope she hasn’t caused a concussion.” 

“Thankfully, magical healing can be used on internal damage as well,” Manuela said, coming over to check on her. “But that doesn’t completely protect from residual damage—nothing permanent, thankfully, but enough to keep you out for a couple days.” She cast Heal on her head and sighed. “Every year, there’s always too many students in the Infirmary after the Mock Battle. I have half a mind to storm up to Lady Rhea and demand that she change the rules to reduce injuries.” 

“You’d better not—she’d brush you off and say it builds character,” Dorothea remarked. 

“An astute observation,” Hubert chuckled. 

“Will I be cleared for release soon?” 

“If you feel well enough to stand, I can conduct a quick physical examination, and then you’ll be free to go.” 

Edelgard slowly pushed herself out of bed and stood up shakily. “Well, let’s not make this too long—I have a date.” 

“Of course you do...” Manuela muttered. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After passing the examination, Edelgard headed back to her room to find C.C. and Ryuk playing chess in the middle of the room. 

“...why is there pizza everywhere?” she asked. 

“I like it,” answered C.C, moving her queen. “Checkmate.” 

“Oh, all right,” Ryuk grumbled. “That’s 29-1, right?” 

“30. You owe me another pizza.” 

Edelgard looked at them dissaprovongly. “Please clean up in here. I need to prepare for my date with Dorothea.” 

“All right, all right...” she said, stacking the pizza boxes. “Anything special?” 

“Just a coffee date, a nice casual—hold on, this is none of your business.” 

C.C. smiled. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In about an hour, Edelgard met with Dorothea at the entrance to town, dressed in a fresh uniform. 

“You’re looking beautiful today!” she flirted. 

“I...and the same to you,” Edelgard replied. 

Dorothea giggled. “So, before we start...we need to address him.” She pointed at Hubert, who was standing in the corner. 

“Hubert...” she sighed. 

“Don’t follow you on your date?” he scoffed in response. “You underestimate my respect for your privacy. Besides, it’ll give me some time to work on that dossier.” 

“Well...excellent,” she said. “I suppose I thought worse of you than you deserve. But for now, let’s head out, Dorothea.” 

“So, what’s this dossier about?” she asked as they walked into town. 

“Corrupt nobles. I’m not just going to let them stay in power once I become Emperor.” 

“Can’t say I disapprove.” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, how long have you been crushing on me?” asked Dorothea, sitting down across from Edelgard. 

“Well...” she said. “You first.” 

“Well, a few months into the year, I realized you were interested in me. I started entertaining the idea of a relationship, and before long, I was smitten, too!” she giggled. “And you?” 

Edelgard looked into her drink and mumbled, “I’d say...five years.” 

“ Five? ” Dorothea said. “Oh, I see...is that why the Imperial Family would always come to see my shows?” 

She nodded. 

“If I recall correctly, it was always you, your father, and occasionally Petra—I expect you’d have siblings, being part of the imperial family and all. Did they not like opera?” 

The words hit Edelgard like a brick, jettisoning her back to her days of imprisonment. She stared ahead blankly, twitching as she remembered the experiments, the pain, the screams— 

“Are...are you OK?” Dorothea’s concerned voice reached her ears, jolting her back to reality. 

“Oh...sorry. I... used  to have many siblings, but now...” She sighed and looked down into her drink. 

“I’m...so sorry. I didn’t want to dredge up bad memories...” 

Edelgard forced a smile. “It’s all right. I may tell you about it someday, but it’s not really...first date material.” 

Dorothea nodded. “Don’t worry, I get it—I have quite a few memories that are better off repressed.” 

Edelgard smiled again—genuinely, this time. “I do still have one sister, however,” she noted. “Her name is Nunally, and she’s the most  precious  thing.” 

“Aww, how old is she?”

“Three years younger than me.” 

“Will she be attending Garreg Mach, soon?” 

Edelgard’s expression darkened. “Well, she can neither walk nor see, so...her prospects aren’t spectacular—except as a political tool,” she bitterly remarked. “But I won’t let that stand when I take power. I will create a world where the powerful no longer prey upon the helpless!” 

Dorothea stared at her, and she realized that she had stood up while reciting her short speech. Edelgard sat down and mumbled, “I’m sorry, I...got a bit caught up, there.” 

“It’s all right,” Dorothea reassured, taking a sip of her coffee. “Now, where were we?” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Claude laid out the scroll of the Immaculate One on the table with a flourish. 

“So, my fawns, what do you see here?” he asked, pointing at it. 

Lysithea rolled her eyes. “That’s a picture of the Immaculate One, you simpleton.” 

“Ah, but not just any picture!” he noted. “This is no tapestry or ‘artistic interpretation—‘ this is a detailed diagram of Miss One. Notice anything special?” 

Hilda eagerly raised her hand. “Ooh, Ooh, I know!” She pointed to the forehead of the beast. “This thing on its forehead looks kinda like a Crest!” 

This piqued Lysithea’s interest. “You know...she’s right. If my Crest knowledge doesn’t fail me, that’s the Crest of Seiros!” 

“Exactly. And, there are some pictures of other beasts as well...” He unrolled the scroll, revealing a Serpent, a huge Wyvern, a Griffin, and a Turtle-like creature. “Can you identify these Crests?” 

Lysithea studied the drawings and answered, “Cethleann, Cichol, Macuil, and Indech.” 

Marianne gasped. “These...those are the Crests of the Four Saints!” 

“Yep—which can mean only one thing.” 

“The Saints were Demonic Beasts who took on human form?” Hilda exclaimed. 

“...one of two things. I was going to suggest that the Saints were empowered by these beasts, somehow, but that’s also a possibility.” 

“Either way, it would explain why the church doesn’t want this to go public,” she noted. 

“Um...may I?” Marianne raised her hand timidly. 

“Go ahead!”

“Well...people say the Crests are gifts from the Goddess, and the Immaculate One was sent by the goddess...” 

“Yes?” 

“...and...well...it has the Crest on its forehead...” 

“And you’re implying that Seiros passed her power down to humankind through the Immaculate One?” Lysithea inferred. 

“That, or...Seiros  is  the Immaculate One!” suggested Hilda. 

“Once again, quite plausible,” Claude agreed. “Anyway, I’ll continue to study it on my free time—see what other things the Church is keeping hush-hush.” 

There was a pause in the conversation. 

“So...what now?” Lysithea asked. 

“Well, are we gonna talk about how Hilda hospitalized Edelgard for two days?” 

“Oh, yeah!” She giggled nervously. “I just got a bit, you know...caught up in battle...you know what I mean?” 

“Translation: you went berserk,” Lysithea commented. 

“I—it’s...I understand, Hilda,” Marianne said. “But I think...you should apologize to Edelgard.” 

“Understatement.” 

She elbowed Claude. “That’s a good idea, Marianne. I think she’s in town right now—would you like to come with me?” 

She stared at her, her eyes filled with an emotion Hilda couldn’t quite recognize. 

“...sure,” she finally said. 

“Great! Do you wanna go now, or do you need some time to prepare.” 

“Umm...I think I’ll be ready in an hour...” 

“Ok, I’ll be waiting!” She skipped out of Claude’s room and down the hall. Marianne quietly excused herself, leaving Claude and Lysithea alone. 

“...so, now what?”

“I have a White Magic tournament to get to—I’m trying to do it without any outside healing to challenge myself. Want to watch?” 

“Sure, I’ve got some free time on my hands...” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

“...and then it turns out I had done the essay on the  wrong book ,” Dorothea concluded. 

“Oh,  goddess, ” Edelgard said, stifling a laugh. “Did the professor let you redo it?” 

“Thankfully, yes, but it came at the cost of a personal reminder of every bit of reading material. I appreciate it and all, but it’s just kind of...embarrassing, you know?” 

“Well, I certainly don’t consider receiving some extra help to be something to be ashamed over.” 

“It’s one thing if you  need  it, but this was an isolated mistake that the Professor took a bit...seriously. But, overall, she’s a good teacher.” 

“Oh, definitely. I haven’t had many teachers, but she’s still by far the best.” 

“I haven’t had  any  other teachers, but she’s still by far the best!” 

Edelgard laughed along with her, before standing up and asking, “Would you...like to go outside?” 

“Certainly!”

Her heart started beating faster as Dorothea took her by the hand and led her outside. They sat down together on a bench, and she remarked, “Now, our class?” 

“Ah, yes...not counting the essay, what was the lowest grade you ever got?” 

“Definitely the Mathematics Apprehension Exam,” she answered assuredly. “The most math I ever learned was some basic arithmetic; I didn’t understand any of what was on it. I got a 43 and a ‘see me after class.’” 

“As for me, I once made the poor decision to not study for a quiz, and ended up with a 81...it was, honestly, humiliating.” 

“Edie, an 81 is good!” 

“No, it’s not. Not for me, at least.” 

Dorothea’s expression darkened. “Edelgard, I can understand having higher standards, and I can understand how much you value effort. But I will  not  let you get down on yourself for what is, honestly, an achievement—especially when I’ve seen you dismiss your successes as ‘nothing worth celebrating’ and ‘praise not being necessary.’ Got it?” 

Edelgard stared at her in disbelief and slowly nodded. 

“Good. Now, what next?” 

“We could...we could take a walk in the park?” 

“Sounds wonderful!” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hey, Cyril!” Claude greeted, strolling up to the child. 

He sighed and set his broom aside, retorting, “What do you want?” 

“Hey, I just wanted to ask about Rhea. She used to assign your daily tasks, right?” 

He nodded cautiously. 

“She must have really valued your work ethic, then. Not many people can say they got to talk to the Archbishop on a daily business.” 

“I guess she must have...anyway, I’m kind of busy, here?” 

“OK, OK,” Claude said, ready to strike. “I have to admire your diligence—I expect Rhea pays you a healthy sum for it.” 

“Oh, no, she doesn’t pay me.” 

Claude had, sadly, been expecting this. 

“Really? Nothing?” 

“Well, Seteth is always trying to give me something, but I usually refuse—it’s not as if I have any use for it.” 

“And...how old are you, now?” 

“14, I think. Why?” 

“Old enough to enroll in the academy, I see!” 

Cyril stared at him. “...why?” 

“‘Why?’ Why ‘Why?’” 

“...I’m sorry, what?” 

“There’s no reason not to. With the skills you learn from it, you can expand your horizons; forge your own path in life instead of working it away here at Garreg Mach.” 

“...why not? What’s wrong with that?” 

Claude was getting frustrated. “Look, Cyril, you’re a child, like it or not. You shouldn’t be wasting all your time doing chores, OK?”

“Well...I guess I understand,” he replied dubiously. “But I could never learn like you guys do.” 

“And why is that?” 

“...I can’t read.” 

“Never too late to learn!” Claude exclaimed, taking him by the hand. “Trust me, I didn’t know until  much  later than expected. Come on, let’s go find teach.” 

Cyril trailed behind him. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

“So, now what?” Ryuk asked, stuffing the last of the pizza boxes into a recycling bin. 

“Do you know any games other than chess?” 

“No...” 

“Hmm...karaoke, then?” 

Ryuk’s face lit up. “Ooh! You have me intrigued...” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dorothea and Edelgard sat silently on a bench, looking at the park’s scenery. 

“I see that the leaves are starting to change color,” Edelgard said. “Autumn is always a beautiful time of year—though I can’t help but wish the grass changed to match the trees.” 

“Oh, they change, all right. Not to a particularly pleasant color, I’ll admit.” 

“What would you say is your favorite time of year?” Edelgard asked. 

“Spring, probably. It’s sunny and green without being too hot. I presume yours is Fall?” 

She nodded. “You presume correctly.” 

Dorothea opened her mouth to speak, but her eye caught sight of Hilda and Marianne walking their way together. 

“Oh, hey! Dorothea! Edelgard!” she greeted. “What brings you two here?” 

“A date,” Edelgard said. “Is it the same for you?” 

Hilda answered before Marianne had a chance to register, “Oh, no, I just wanted to apologize for...you know. Leaving you unconscious and all that.” 

“You are forgiven,” she said. “But...did you come all this way just to say that?” 

“Oh, no!” Hilda said with a giggle. “We were going to to do some other stuff, too, right, Mari?” 

She nodded, and replied with a hint of joy that was rarely heard in her voice. 

“We were thinking of getting something to eat...do you, um...have any recommendations?” 

“That new coffee shop was rather nice,” Edelgard said. 

“Great idea! Let’s go, Mari!” Hilda strolled off, holding Marianne’s hand. 

“They make a cute couple,” Edelgard noted. 

“Even cuter than us?” 

“Hmm...we’ll see.” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At the docks, Byleth and Jeralt sat in lawn chairs, fishing off the pier. 

“Got anything yet?” she asked. 

“Nope.” 

“Shame.” She landed another fish and added it to her substantial pile. 

“Maybe because they’re all heading to  your  rod,” he grumbled. 

“I guess I have what you call a ‘gift.’” 

Jeralt laughed. “I wouldn’t call ridiculous fishing luck—no, you’ve definitely got a gift. Not sure I’d call it a ‘talent,’ though.” 

“I never said it was,” Byleth said with one of her rare smiles. 

They stared over the water. 

“You know what, dad? I love you. I may not always say it, but it’s true.” 

He put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Funny...that’s the sort of thing I’d usually be saying to you.” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“GRAVITY!” C.C. sang. 

“DON’T MEAN TOO MUCH TO ME!” Ryuk joined in. 

“I’M WHO I’VE GOT TO BE!” 

Before Ryuk could his part, the door swung open. C.C. froze in her tracks as Hubert walked in. 

“Oh, hello. Do you know where Lady Edelgard is?” 

“I think she’s still on her date.” 

“Ah, I see. Well, when she comes back, let her know I’ve finished the dossier.” As he closed the door, he added, “By the way, you have a lovely singing voice—despite only singing every other line.” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

“Linhardt, do you think I’m cute?” Caspar asked. 

He looked up from his book. “Yes, why?” 

“I was just wondering if I’d ever get a boyfriend.” 

“Oh, almost undoubtedly.” 

“Ha! Thanks, buddy.” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Heyy! Lorenz! My man! How are you doing?” 

“What do you want, Claude,” he said, refusing to look up from his book. 

“What, I can’t even talk to a friend because I feel like it?” 

“Yes, but I don’t believe I count as a friend.” 

“Oh, you wound me, Lorenz! Such harsh words...” 

He scoffed. “Please get to the point.” 

“All right: I’m sorry for always ragging on you. Us Deer mean it in jest, but I guess it can seem a bit harsh sometimes.” 

“Well...apology accepted.” A thought dawned on him. “Does that mean you’re going to stop incessantly mocking me?” 

“...tell you what: I’ll stop  incessantly  mocking you.” 

“Oh, you’re now going to mock me at wide intervals?” 

“That’s the plan!” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

The sun was setting by the time Dorothea and Edelgard returned to the Academy. 

“I suppose we’re dating, now?” 

“I don’t know...does one date make us girlfriends?” 

“If...” Edelgard cleated her throat. “Well, only if you wish it.” 

Dorothea smiled. “Don’t worry, Edie, I’m just teasing you!” She put her hand on Edelgard’s cheek. 

“May I?” 

She nodded, breathless. 

Dorothea kissed her on the cheek. 

“Have a good night, Edie!” she said as she returned to her room. Edelgard stood in silence for quite a while before doing the same. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, how was your date?” C.C. asked. 

“How was your...” Edelgard glanced around the room. “...what did you do?” 

“Karaoke!” Ryuk chuckled. 

Of course,  she thought. 

“By the way, Hubert came by," C.C. noted with a sly smile. "He says he’s finished that dossier.” 

“Really?” Edelgard smiling widely, barely masking her sinister thoughts. “Well, now. This day just keeps getting better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, excessive *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*s!
> 
> Edelgard's unhealthy attitude is directly based on my own. The schoolwork, not the murder


End file.
